An Introduction to Yoga Annie Besant Foreword These lectures[FN#1: Delivered at the 32nd Anniversary of the Theosophical Society

held at Benares, on Dec. 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th, 1907.] are intended to give an outline of Yoga, in order to prepare the student to take up, for practical purposes, the Yoga sutras of Patanjali, the chief treatise on Yoga. I have on hand, with my friend Bhagavan Das as collaborateur, a translation of these Sutras, with Vyasa's commentary, and a further commentary and elucidation written in the light of Theosophy.[FN#2: These have never been finished or printed.] To prepare the student for the mastering of that more difficult task, these lectures were designed; hence the many references to Patanjali. They may, however, also serve to give to the ordinary lay reader some idea of the Science of sciences, and perhaps to allure a few towards its study. Annie Besant

Table of Contents

Lecture I. The Nature of Yoga 1. The Meaning of the Universe 2. The Unfolding of Consciousness 3. The Oneness of the Self 4. The Quickening of the Process of Self-Unfoldment 5. Yoga is a Science 6. Man a Duality 7. States of Mind 8. Samadhi 9. The Literature of Yoga 10. Some Definitions 11. God Without and God Within 12. Changes of Consciousness and Vibrations of Matter 13. Mind 14. Stages of Mind 15. Inward and Outward-turned Consciousness 16. The Cloud Lecture 1. 2. 3. 4. II. Schools of Thought Its Relation to Indian Philosophies Mind The Mental Body Mind and Self

Lecture III. Yoga as Science 1. Methods of Yoga 2. To the Self by the Self

3. 4. 5. 6.

To the Self through the Not-Self Yoga and Morality Composition of States of the Mind Pleasure and Pain

Lecture IV. Yoga as Practice 1. Inhibition of States of Mind 2. Meditation with and without Seed 3. The Use of Mantras 4. Attention 5. Obstacles to Yoga 6. Capacities for Yoga 7. Forthgoing and Returning 8. Purification of Bodies 9. Dwellers on the Threshold 10. Preparation for Yoga 11. The End

Lecture I THE NATURE OF YOGA In this first discourse we shall concern ourselves with the gaining of a general idea of the subject of Yoga, seeking its place in nature, its own character, its object in human evolution.

The Meaning of the Universe

Let us, first of all, ask ourselves, looking at the world around us, what it is that the history of the world signifies. When we read history, what does the history tell us? It seems to be a moving panorama of people and events, but it is really only a dance of shadows; the people are shadows, not realities, the kings and statesmen, the ministers and armies; and the eventsÄ the battles and revolutions, the rises and falls of states Äare the most shadowlike dance of all. Even if the historian tries to go deeper, if he deals with economic conditions, with social organisations, with the study of the tendencies of the currents of thought, even then he is in the midst of shadows, the illusory shadows cast by unseen realities. This world is full of forms that are illusory, and the values are all wrong, the proportions are out of focus. The things which a man of the world thinks valuable, a spiritual man must cast aside as worthless. The diamonds of the world, with their glare and glitter in the rays of the outside sun, are mere fragments of broken glass to the man of knowledge. The crown of the king, the sceptre of the emperor, the triumph of earthly power, are less than nothing to the man who has had one glimpse of the majesty of the Self. What is, then, real? What is truly valuable? Our answer will be very different from the answer given by the man of the world.

"The universe exists for the sake of the Self." Not for what the outer world can give, not for control over the objects of desire, not for the sake even of beauty or pleasure, does the Great Architect plan and build His worlds. He has filled them with objects, beautiful and pleasure-giving. The great arch of the sky above, the mountains with snow-clad peaks, the valleys soft with verdure and fragrant with blossoms, the oceans with their vast depths, their surface now calm as a lake, now tossing in furyÄthey all exist, not for the objects themselves, but for their value to the Self. Not for themselves because they are anything in themselves but that the purpose of the Self may be served, and His manifestations made possible. The world, with all its beauty, its happiness and suffering, its joys and pains" is planned with the utmost ingenuity, in order that the powers of the Self may be shown forth in manifestation. From the fire-mist to the LOGOS, all exist for the sake of the Self. The lowest grain of dust, the mightiest deva in his heavenly regions, the plant that grows out of sight in the nook of a mountain, the star that shines aloft over us-all these exist in order that the fragments of the one Self, embodied in countless forms, may realize their own identity, and manifest the powers of the Self through the matter that envelops them. There is but one Self in the lowliest dust and the loftiest deva. "Mamamsaha"ÄMy portion,Ä" a portion of My Self," says Sri Krishna, are all these Jivatmas, all these living spirits. For them the universe exists; for them the sun shines, and the waves roll, and the winds blow, and the rain falls, that the Self may know Himself as manifested in matter, as embodied in the universe.

The Unfolding of Consciousness

One of those pregnant and significant ideas which Theosophy scatters so lavishly around is thisÄthat the same scale is repeated over and over again, the same succession of events in larger or smaller cycles. If you understand one cycle, you understand the whole. The same laws by which a solar system is builded go to the building up of the system of man. The laws by which the Self unfolds his powers in the universe, from the fire-mist up to the LOGOS, are the same laws of consciousness which repeat themselves in the universe of man. If you understand them in the one, you can equally understand them in the other. Grasp them in the small, and the large is revealed to you. Grasp them in the large, and the small becomes intelligible to you. The great unfolding from the stone to the God goes on through millions of years, through aeons of time. But the long unfolding that takes place in the universe, takes place in a shorter time-cycle within the limit of humanity, and this in a cycle so brief that it seems as nothing beside the longer one. Within a still briefer cycle a similar unfolding takes place in the individualÄ rapidly, swiftly, with all the force of its past

it will not seem so strange that from man you should pass on to superman. and finding yourself in the region where divinity becomes more manifest. until they become too mighty for the vegetable. when it is definitely begun. The succession is the same. This last process of evolution is called "Yoga. and become animal. you can study the laws of the whole. Then they become too strong for the mineral.
The Oneness of the Self
The Self in you is the same as the Self Universal. and in Yoga you learn to apply those same laws to your own consciousness rationally and definitely. which seemed so alien and so far off. the sequences identical. or in the individual. and then out of the human. Whether you are thinking of the unfolding of consciousness in the universe. Our evolution here has all the force of the last evolution in it. and hence. and it is the accumulation of these forces which enables him to make the passage so rapidly. when we come to this shortest cycle of evolution which is called Yoga. and exert greater pressure against the barrier. and then from our last dwelling-place in the lunar orb on to this terrene globe that we call the earth. As you study the unfolding of consciousness. Embodied in the stone. will begin to wear a familiar face.behind it. the man has behind him the whole of the forces accumulated in his human evolution. in the mineral world. for the laws of evolution of consciousness in a universe are exactly the same as the laws of Yoga. and the corresponding evolution of form. Expanding within and gaining experiences from the animal. is not a new thing. and press on into the vegetable world. they again overflow the limits of the animal. through vegetable to animal. If you look at Yoga in this light. however different in their stage of manifestation. and the principles whereby consciousness unfolds itself in the great evolution of humanity are the same principles that we take in Yoga and deliberately apply to the more rapid unfolding of our own consciousness. Whatever
. as some people imagine. transcending the barrier of humanity. So that Yoga. or in the human race. These forces that manifest and unveil themselves in evolution are cumulative in their power. they press into the super-human." Coming to the individual. We must connect our Yoga with the evolution of consciousness everywhere. else we shall not understand it at all. and in the mineral world accomplish their unfolding. and come to you in a garb not wholly strange. then this Yoga. they grow and put out a little more of strength. and appear as the human. There they unfold more and more of their divinity. the man of our own globe has behind him his long evolution in other chains than oursÄthis same evolution through mineral to vegetable. through animal to man. All the laws are one. In the human being they still grow and accumulate with ever-increasing force. The whole evolution is one in its essence.

in temporary matter at least. They who cannot face the world have not the strength to face the difficulties of Yoga practice. Sand knew itself to be different. It may be well at times to retire temporarily from the busy haunts of men. in latency. are as Himself. If you realize the unity of the Self amid the diversities of the Not-Self.
The Quickening of the Process of Self-unfoldment
Educated and thoughtful men and women you already are. As a matter of fact. even before your self. then you will understand also that it is not necessary to go into the mountain or into the desert. His portions.consciousness had separated itself. how do you expect to conquer the difficulties of the inner life? If you cannot climb over the little troubles of the world. shall you not do more ? With the consciousness so far unfolded. planned with Divine wisdom and sagacity. Sometimes for a special purpose seclusion may be useful. the Jivatmas. Having done so much. how can you hope to climb over the difficulties that a yogi has to scale? Those men blunder. He spoke it to a Kshattriya ready to fight. in you. The world is meant for the unfolding of the Self: why should you then seek to run away from it? Look at Shri Krishna Himself in that great Upanishad of yoga. in order that the powers of the Self may be brought outÄthere is your best field for Yoga. In Him there are no additions or subtractions. who think that running away from the world is the road to victory. does it seem impossible that it should unfold in the future into the Divine? As you realize that the laws of the evolution of form and of the unfolding of consciousness in the universe and man are the same. He spoke it out on a battle-field. The manifest Deity sleeps in the mineral and the stone. He becomes more and more unfolded in vegetables and animals. The Kurukshetra of the world is the field of Yoga. and that it is through these laws that the yogi brings out his hidden powers. then Yoga will not seem an impossible thing to you. If the outer world out-wearies your powers. And that is the first idea that you should take up and hold firmly: Yoga is only a quickened process of the ordinary unfolding of consciousness. the Bhagavad-Gita. the Supreme.
. already you have climbed up that long ladder which separates the present outer form of the Deity in you from His form in the dust. was aware of itself. does not evolve. and lastly in man He has reached what appears as His culmination to ordinary men. and that peace can be found only in certain localities. from all the others that surround it. those powers exist in germ. in order that the union with the Self may be obtainedÄHe who is within you and without you. you have practised Yoga unconsciously in the past. and they only unfold their powers in matter as conditions around them draw those powers forth. to hide yourself in a cave or a forest. But in the universe planned by Isvara.powers are manifested throughout the world. He. and not on a mountain peak. and not to a Brahmana quietly retired from the world.

may quicken "natural" processes. generation after generation. a systematized collection of laws applied to bring about a definite end. till the peculiarity that he wants to establish has become a well-marked feature. and so on and on. You know. Out of the blue rock pigeon he develops the pouter or the fan-tail. and the working of intelligence is as "natural" as anything else. he chooses out. we are in the same department of applied science as. The farmer or gardener cannot transcend the laws of nature. He mates such birds together. Yoga is a science. We make this distinction. nor can he work against them. And how? By applying human intelligence to choose the laws that serve him and to neutralize the laws that hinder. and when we come to deal with Yoga. takes every favouring circumstance into consideration and selects again and again. by looking at the world around you. That is the second thing to grasp. and applies those rationally in a particular case. self-applied in an individual case. So we must add one more word to our definition: "Yoga is the rational application of the laws of the unfolding of consciousness. between "rational" and "natural" growth. This rational application of the laws of unfolding consciousness acts exactly on the same principles that you see applied around you every day in other departments of science. dreamy drifting or imagining. the forms that show most strongly the peculiarity that he wishes to develop. That is what is meant by the methods of Yoga.Yoga may then be defined as the "rational application of the laws of the unfolding of consciousness in an individual case". It takes up the laws of psychology. You study the laws' of the unfolding of consciousness in the universe. Yoga is a science. and not a vague. hundreds of thousands of years to do. and practically it is a real one."
Yoga Is a Science
Next. Out of the wild rose of the hedge has been evolved every rose of the garden. perhaps. leave the birds to themselves. Or take the case of the gardener. because human intelligence can guide the working of natural laws. in every world. is the scientific farmer or gardener. He brings the divine intelligence in man to utilise the divine powers in nature that are working for general rather than for particular ends. how enormously the intelligence of man. They must be self-applied. Many-petalled roses are but the result of the scientific culture of the
. when he applies the natural laws of selection to breeding. you then apply them to a special caseÄand that case is your own. That is the definite principle to grasp. applicable to the unfolding of the whole consciousness of man on every plane. co-operating with nature. You cannot apply them to another. let us say. Remove his controlling intelligence. Take the breeder of pigeons. He has no other laws of nature to work with save universal laws by which nature is evolving forms around us. and they revert to the ancestral type. and yet he does in a few years what nature takes. It is an applied science.

then. Prana-maya-kosa. For you are really merely quickening your growth. Take it. So is it in the application of the laws of psychology that we call Yoga. and the world is admirably planned by the LOGOS for this unfolding of consciousness. and thus you can bring about the result that nature.
. and deliberately eliminating the conditions which would not help you in your work. mind and body. As I have just said. your unfolding. a quickening process for the knowledge of the Self. the wild product of nature. it is by the world that consciousness has been unfolded. some of the simpler applications of the laws of the unfolding of consciousness to yourself. There are many laws. and he chooses those that have the qualities he wants intensified. There is only one of him in each set of envelopes. with your powers. finds in the world exactly the things he wants to make his practice of Yoga real. divides man into many parts and pieces. choosing out his objects and applying his laws. taking advantage of the powers nature puts within your hands. and that even some of the lower practices of Yoga. You can choose those which you require. and you will begin to feel that to be a yogi is not necessarily a thing for a life far off. mental. and from those again he chooses those that show the desired qualities still more clearly. without that application of human intelligence. for the understanding of the human constitution. cannot so swiftly effect. only troubles itself about two great facts regarding man. until he has produced a flower so different from the original stock that only by tracing it back can you tell the stock whence it sprang. and sometimes the Theosophist has to revise his ideas about man when he begins this practical line. If you see it in that light. etc. you can utilize those you need. Or we talk about Sthula-sarira. you can evade those you do not require. a vital thing. That is a point to be definitely grasped. First. astral. Sukshma-sarira. that Yoga is within your reach. Theosophy quite usefully and rightly. it seems to me that Yoga will be to you a far more real. he is a unit. Karana-sarira.
Man a Duality
Some of the terms used in Yoga are necessarily to be known. We talk of physical. will benefit you in this world as well as in all others. and often mistranslated into English. but rather hinder your march forward. A gardener who chooses the pollen from one plant and places it on the carpers of another is simply doing deliberately what is done every day by the bee and the fly.five-petalled rose of the hedgerow. Systematized knowledge of the unfolding of consciousness applied to the individualized Self. hence the would-be yogi. a unit of consciousness. and so on. Sometimes we divide man into Anna-maya-kosa. But he chooses his plants. that is Yoga. an incarnation far removed from the present one. practical thing. For Yoga takes man for a special purpose and studies him for a special end and. than it is when you merely read some fragments about it taken from Sanskrit books. therefore.

says Vyasa. the physical body is the only thing of which we can say: " It is
. taking different forms. to be used over and over again. or Monad. if you can catch clearly hold of the root idea. to the yogi. That unit. the working. and are equally true at each stage of evolution. the sheaths. In order that this may come out clearly." he is coming nearer and nearer to his highest point. with which the man identifies himself for the time. and Not-Self is only the matter it can put aside. however tenuous the latter may be. That is an abstraction. I am not complaining of the various sub-divisions of other systems. so that it is a changing quantity." says Indra. so that a unit of consciousness is inseparable from matter. They are necessary for the purpose of those systems. in a single atom of matter. This division is very significant and useful. or with which he is connected. "Self" includes consciousness plus such matter as it cannot distinguish from itself. as we shall see in a moment. the bodies. and a Jivatma. always present in all. Of course. This is. They are taken as consciousness. Only that is body which the man is able to put aside and say: "This is not I. a unit of consciousness in a set of envelopes. the great Life. and you will see the envelopes. but from the standpoint of yogic practice. and this way of dealing with man enables the same significant words. but mine. present at the different stages. Samvid. life-breath and matter. In the concrete universe there are always the Self and His sheaths. the great Self. to consciousness in a single film. Man is not pure Self. is so much of him as he cannot separate from the matter enclosing him. But Yoga. For all practical purposes of Yoga. looking at the thing from beginning to end. etc. or Self. Prana here means the totality of the life-forces. or the opposite of mind. that is called Prana. is invariably consciousness plus matter." We find we have a whole series of terms in Yoga which may be repeated over and over again.Mano-maya-kosa. But Yoga is practical and psychological. for its practical purposes. As he drops off one sheath after another and says: " That is not myself. This is not the duality of the Self and the Not-Self. conscious man. in other words. "I am Prana. for the study of human anatomy and physiology. so far as many of us are concerned. pure consciousness. means for the yogi in practice so much of the appropriated matter of the outer world as he is able to put away from himself. a Monad. that we can hardly find the man because of the pieces. Now it is quite clear that. mind. so to say. including every sheath of matter from which the man is unable to separate himself in consciousness. you will see Prana. Body. but the totality of the life forces of the universe or. We divide man into so many pieces in order to study him thoroughly. to distinguish from his own consciousness. they all become relative. with an ever subtler connotation. All the states of mind exist on every plane. considers man simply as a dualityÄmind and body. For in Yoga. Pradhana is the term used for matter. is the Self. the man. the life-side of the universe. two terms are used in Yoga as constituting manÄPrana and Pradhana. Prana is not only the life-breath of the body.

or in English. even in an introduction to Yoga. When working in the subtler form--the mental body--it is not able to impress its experiences on the brain. If our consciousness works in the subtle. Jagrat is related to the physical. "Waking" consciousness or Jagrat. There are no exact English equivalents. it is called Svapna. and a similar sequence of the states of the mind is found on every plane. the "deep sleep" consciousness. dream consciousness. is used in different ways and in different senses. would deal with the waking consciousness in the body as the lowest state. the "dream" consciousness.
States of Mind
Let us take it in detail. How then are we to find our way in this apparent tangle? By knowing the state which is the starting-point. if we have not learned their relative nature. all the words that would be used in it to describe the states of consciousness. so that. the states of mind. In order to know how you shall begin to apply to yourselves the various terms used to describe the states of mind. in the practice of Yoga at first. and the state beyond that. Svapna is not the same for all. represent a much unfolded consciousness. Svapna to the astral. it is more vivid and real than the Jagrat state. Four states of consciousness are spoken of amongst us. These four states. You can find four states even in that.
. Sushupti to the mental. But the same words are repeated in the books of Yoga with a different context. All of you are familiar with the waking consciousness in the physical body. a lofty state of trance. then it is. to be explained in a moment. you must carefully analyse your own consciousness. and Turiya to the buddhic. or Sushupti. if you analyse it. But if it has so far separated itself from connection with the brain. and they are no more troublesome to learn than any other technical psychological terms. or Svapna. implying a distinct and recognisable state of the mind in relation to that which is the lowest. called Turiya. that it cannot be readily recalled by outer means. and. all the words would be relative terms. it is called Sushupti or deep sleep consciousness. or astral. Above all. rising up from that. When passing from one world to another. that you and I are using at the present time. the word samadhi. and is able to impress its experiences upon the brain. then the mind is working on its own contents. for you. not on outer objects. and find out how much of it is really consciousness. and then the sequence will always be the same. body. called Turiya[FN#3: It is impossible to avoid the use of these technical terms. and how much is matter so closely appropriated that you cannot separate it from yourself.] How are those related to the body? Jagrat is the ordinary waking consciousness. There the difficulty occurs.not myself ". nor is Sushupti the same for everyone. we should use these words to designate the consciousness working under the conditions of each world. when correlated to the four planes.

I read the words. I have passed from the waking state of the physical plane into the Svapna state of waking consciousness. Take another illustration. If an ordinary person throws himself into trance and is active on the astral plane. my eyes arc related to the outer physical consciousness. it is necessary to explain them. the astral forms begin to intrude upon your waking physical consciousness until they appear as distinctly as do physical forms. remembering them when again immersed in the physical brain. I am in Svapna. Suppose you are only able to reach the astral world when you are asleep. your consciousness there is. and reach the ideal watch. then I have reached the Turiya state of the waking consciousness. though there are no exact English equivalents. and thus become objects of your waking consciousness. I close my eyes and make an image of the watch. need to be understood. As they must be used to avoid clumsy circumlocutions. in the Svapna state. The phrase "Yoga is Samadhi" covers facts of the highest significance and greatest instruction. I am in Turiya." Samadhi is a state in which the consciousness is so dissociated from the body that the latter remains insensible. If his consciousness is functioning in the mental plane. you have taken two worlds within the scope of your Jagrat consciousness--the
. I pass from this to the mind of the writer. But as you slowly unfold your powers. I am in Sushupti. Samadhi is there. I am in Jagrat. that sees through the outer form. then ? Let us take the waking consciousness. If I pass from this contact and enter the very mind of the writer. which recur from time to time in the Yoga-sutras. The astral world then. I go behind the words to the meaning of the words. and from which the mind returns to the body with the experiences it has had in the superphysical state. That is the Jagrat state. and live in that man's mind. I pass to the ideal of time in the abstract. it is the waking consciousness in its Sushupti state. In this way. can practice Samadhi. you can make states of mind intelligible and real. his Samadhi is on the astral. I have not left the body. The man who can so withdraw from the body as to leave it insensitive.
Samadhi
Some other important words. I look at any watch. but to the Jagrat. I call together many ideas of many watches. no longer belongs to the Svapna consciousness. But all these are stages in the physical plane consciousness. seeking the inner life. here the mind touches the mind. while his mind is fully self-conscious. as we have seen.How to distinguish them. Suppose I take up a book and read it. Samadhi for any one person is relative to his waking consciousness. It is said: "Yoga is Samadhi. for you. instead of mere words. though the body is insensitive. and try to see the four states in that. It is a state of trance in which the mind is fully self-conscious. but implies insensitiveness of the body.

or atmic plane. the literature of Yoga is not largely available in English. are within your reach. the mental plane begins similarly to intrude itself. the consciousness being already centred in the fifth.
The Literature of Yoga
Unfortunately for non-Sanskrit-knowing people. the lower bodies form but a single body and the consciousness in that sheath of matter which it still cannot throw away. "Yoga is Samadhi. astral and mental all come within your waking consciousness. That is Samadhi.[FN#4: An Indian yogi in Samadhi. whether it rises above the physical into the astral. discovered in a forest by some ignorant and brutal Englishmen. in many translations. You will easily understand this if you remember that. that perceives and acts. but they are general. and thence rises stage by stage to the higher cosmic planes. Remember that all which you can put aside as not yourself is the body of the yogi. The three bodies of the ordinary man have become one body for the yogi. "Your body" is then the physical and the astral bodies taken together. their three corresponding bodies but one body. as in self-induced trance of an ordinary man. to become
. while you are told to make sacrifices. but I then see you only vaguely at the same time.physical and the astral worlds--and the mental world is in your Svapna consciousness. or as in the case of a Jivan-mukta when. is used to describe the states of the consciousness. Even in the Bhagavad-Gita. he begins it on the atmic plane. samadhi. in that state of enlarged waking. He begins his Samadhi on a plane to which the mere man cannot rise. in this hall. only to leave it again at once by death. All planes below the atmic are one plane for him. when the pillars on both sides will appear indistinctly. not a change of body.] This will also explain to you the phrase in The Secret Doctrine that the Adept " begins his Samadhi on the atmic plane " When a Jivan-mukta enters into Samadhi. and thus focus it. those. The general teachings of Yoga are to be found in the Upanishads. being out of focus." It is the power to withdraw from all that you know as body. No ordinary means will then call you back to the world that you have left. but do not tell you about the methods in any detailed way. These three worlds form but one world to you. and the physical. it rises to the higher planes of a larger world. you must fix your attention on it. then. It is a change of focus. I may focus my sight in the middle of the hall. and hence. they give you the main principles. that becomes the man. then the physical and the mental. He begins it on the atmic plane. was so violently ill used that he returned to his tortured body. and the Bhagavad-Gita. not special. then the astral and mental will appear hazy. as you go higher. So you can focus your attention on the astral and see it. As you go on. and to concentrate yourself within. Or I may concentrate my attention on a pillar and see it distinctly. will appear dim. concentrate your attention on the physical and see it. your Jagrat world. all these are. The same word. If under these conditions you want to see only one world at a time. You can.

The difficulty is that without a teacher they are very dangerous. but it you take up these words. Knowing the one helps you to know the other. the principles whereby the man may re-create himself. first of all. many of the minor Upanishads. to which only the word " great " was given in the past. very valuable and instructive. For instance. a good dealÄmuch harmÄmay come of it. The Yogi is the man who has learned the power of the will. just over this part of the tongue. The process is largely the same. The Tantras are very useful books. "the hundred-and-eight" as they are called. those that deal with black magic.indifferent. the one Science. a mixture of the two. The Tantras contain the whole of that. leads to ordinary hysteria. absolutely necessary indeed. for there is a close connection between the two. This means the solar plexus. and those that deal with what we may call grey magic. but no reliable teacher would set his pupil to work on the bodily organs until he had some control over the higher centres. A good many of the American " occult " books now sold are scraps of the Tantras which have been translated. and do not know to what the physical word is applied. So the Tantras have got a bad name both in the West and here in India. and the word is often applied to the physical organs when the other is meant. This knowledge has ever been called magic. all occult science is to be found in them. but if they think upon the corresponding centre in the body. but going into Samadhi is a priceless power. the occult side of man and nature. the means whereby discoveries may be made. in one of the Sutras it is said that if you meditate on a certain part of the tongue you will obtain astral sight. The particular word used to refer to a centre has a correspondence in the physical body." it is also said. Now magic is the word which covers the methods of deliberately bringing about super-normal physical states by the action of the will. people may meditate on that part of their tongues all their lives without anything coming of it. " Meditate on the navel. These books have an evil significance in the ordinary English ear. brought about by the will. One difficulty is that these Tantric works often use the name of a bodily organ to represent an astral or mental centre. all these are in the Tantras. and again and again a man trying to practice the Tantric methods without a teacher makes himself very ill. but not quite rightly. and may injure yourself. and had carefully purified the physical body. and knows how to use it to bring about foreseen and foredetermined results. Then comes the enormous mass of literature called the Tantras. This is what is called a " blind.
. A similarly high tension. That means that if you meditate on the pituitary body. which are all physical. emotional and foolish. and so on. and the teacher who has been through it all can place his pupil on the right path. renders a man sensitive to super-physical vibrations Going to sleep has no significance. The special literature of Yoga is. it is the name of the Great Science of the past. it is all of the nature of moral precept. astral sight will be opened. There is some reason in that because all the centres are connected with each other from body to body." and it is intended to keep the people away from dangerous practices in the books that are published. the other to the action of the trained will. then you will only become very confused. A high tension of the nerves. But they are divisible into three classes: those that deal with white magic. brought on by anxiety or disease. but one is due to ordinary conditions. but still not telling you how to reach the conditions put before you.

"Unfolding" always refers to consciousness. "Mysticism" is the seeking of the same union by emotion.[FN#6: The word yoga may. And even the commentaries have this peculiarity. Spirituality. whatever the road taken. All who know how many people in India suffer through these practices. herein following Patanjali. Evolution is the homogeneous becoming the heterogeneous. In the first place. of course. Yoga and Mysticism. which need brief definitions.] See the mystic. to elucidate the Sutras. "Spirituality and Psychism".[FN#5: See London Lectures of 1907. the triumph of the saint. "Spirituality" is the realisation of the One. recognize that it is not wise to plunge into them without some one to tell you what they mean. "evolution" to forms. for consciousness. as a Science. there is a great deal of commentary in Sanskrit. not explained. He Himself only manifests what He is. constantly recurring. Here is the rapture of the mystic. the simple becoming complex. "what you are"--a paradoxical phrase. many a saying of the great mystics may come to your mind: "Become. and the matter evolves to serve Him. and what may be safely practiced and what not. but I am afraid that few are able to make much of it by themselves. And on that." says St. He does not know how he has reached that lofty state. He is conscious only of God and his love for Him. he loses self-consciousness. Ambrose. be rightly used of all union with the self. ill-understood.] "Yoga" is the seeking of union by the intellect. Evolution. and all that can happen to it is to turn itself outwards instead of remaining turned inwards. so that the student is not much enlightened. only partially translated. leaving all external ideas. The God in you cannot evolve. in order to avoid confusion. The other part of the Yoga literature is a small book called the sutras of Patanjali. but one that sums up a great truth: become in outer manifestation that which you are in inner reality. and passes into a rapture of love and adoration. That is available. That is the object of the whole process of Yoga.But to meditate on that is to incur the danger of a serious nervous disorder. He fixes his mind on the object of devotion. a science. which are simply headings. it is all there and always. that all the most difficult words are merely repeated. and a great surge of emotion sweeps him up to God. they are: Unfolding. But there is no growth and no perfectioning for Spirit. Psychism. almost impossible to cure. but He may show forth His powers through matter that He has appropriated for the purpose. "Psychism" is the manifestation of intelligence through any material vehicle. as peculiarly connected with the intelligence. I am using it here in the narrower sense. wrapped in the object of his love.
.
Some Definitions
There are a few words.

So you read in the Upanishad: "Whose only proof is the witness of the Self. There you will find Him. because it is the testimony of the Self to himself. He is above and beyond reasoning. and curiously. it will not prove to demonstration that God is. in Himself is the object of search. union with Him in consciousness is his goal.
God Without and God Within
That leads us to the next point. The one looks upon devotion to Isvara as a way of reaching the Beloved. and although the reason may guide you on the way. the relation of God without to God within. To the Hindu that inner conviction is the only thing worthy to be called faith. and thus reach the stage where you have pure consciousness--save a veil of the thin nirvanic matter. and this gives you the reason why faith is said to be beyond reason. that of which alone you are entirely sure. and know that He is without as well as within you. He attains communion by that. "devotion to Isvara'' is one of several means. save that one veil of the nirvanic atom. God is seen as the end and is reached directly by rapture. there is no definite proof of God save the witness of the Self within to His existence. but to the yogi. of the innermost Self of you. The yogi may use devotion as a means. that conviction of existence as Self. the other looks upon it as a means of reaching concentration. Faith is beyond reason. In the one." This is very different from Western methods of thought. Devotion to Isvara as a means of concentrating the mind is the scientific way in which the yogi regards devotion. who is the very type of Hindu thought. He works by science and not by emotion. Devotion to Isvara is not for him an end in itself.The yogi does not work like that. delight in Him is the reason for approaching Him. and so is often confused with credulity. which try to demonstrate God by a process of argument. Step after step. with an unshakable certainty of conviction. To the yogi. To the mystic. The only way you can know Him is by diving into yourself. The Hindu will tell you that you cannot demonstrate God by any argument or reasoning. fixing the attention on God is merely an effective way of concentrating the mind. he realises what he is doing. Devotion to Isvara is the path of the mystic. devotion is used to obtain an end. and the only true faith is that inner conviction. finding it dull and dry. are not at present unfolding that part of their nature which will find its best help in the practice of Yoga. He has given many means whereby Yoga may be followed. This comes out very plainly in Patanjali. God. It is the aim of Yoga to enable you to reach that
. No number of words would have brought out the difference of spirit between Yoga and Mysticism as well as this. in the other. and his idea of finding the proof of God is that you should strip away from your consciousness all limitations. of which reason is only one of the outer manifestations. but means to an endÄthe concentration of the mind. so that any who do not care for science. and Yoga is a system that enables you to get rid of everything from consciousness that is not God. There comes out the spirit of the scientific thinker. which no argument can either strengthen or weaken. and so to know that God is. Then you know that God is. You see there at once the difference of spirit.

with a foundation of certainty that it is. It is more than. The question is often put: "How can things in such different categories. The Raja Yoga seeks to control the changes in consciousness. there is no vibration in matter. which has not correlated to it a certain change in consciousness. human mind. but steadily. the Indian has crossed it. " the measure of That. a change of matter is a change of place. circling round one idea that never changes--Self-existence. matter and Spirit are not only the two phases of the One. Sattva is rhythm. then the question: "Is there a God?" can never again come into the. but beyond this all is change. or mobility. mobility. that has not appropriated to it a vibration in matter. unshakably." the measure of consciousness. In matter. and by this control to rule
. the Kingly Yoga and the Yoga of Resolve. however subtle. To the Indian. and about the matter which is the envelope of consciousness. These correspondences are utilised in Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. every change of state in consciousness is related to vibrations of matter in its vehicle. and that is an infinite number of vibrations. The great characteristic of consciousness is change. a vibration. but which the Self so often identifies with himself. the Tanmatra. by a subtle analysis of the relation between consciousness and matter. which the Hindu scriptures trace out in the building of the atom. It only changes its states within itself. He who is consciousness imposes on his material the answer to every change in consciousness. he sees that in every universe the LOGOS imposes upon matter a certain definite relation of rhythms. we find three fundamental qualities--rhythm. but. and vice versa. A change of consciousness is a change of a state. or rather. There is no change in consciousness. however swift or delicate.Self constantly not by a sudden glimpse of intuition. and only by the changes does consciousness become Self-consciousness. rajas. Moreover. has shown that there is no gulf. The consciousness itself is not changed by any change of position or place. vibration. That makes it possible for the Self to know the Not-Self. every vibration of matter corresponding to a change in consciousness. affect each other? Can we bridge that great gulf which some say can never be crossed?" Yes. Consciousness is an everchanging thing. So that between the Self and his sheaths there is this invariable relation: the change in consciousness and the vibration of matter. stability--sattva. and unchangeably.
Changes of Consciousness and Vibrations of Matter
It is necessary to understand something about that consciousness which is your Self. and when that Self is reached. a swinging from one side to the other over a definite distance. That is the first great work of the LOGOS. tamas. a length of wave. as matter and Spirit. When matter is examined. It is a regulated movement. rajas. The consciousness of existence never changes. every change of state is brought about by change of place.

the change in the thinker is answered by a change outside. The Hatha Yogi gains control over the bodily organs with which the waking consciousness no longer concerns itself. desire and activity are subject to it. having relinquished them to its lower part. and still more when he touches those connected with the super-consciousness. Go to the buddhic plane. desire. and according to the combinations of matter in your bodies will be the conditions of the activity of the whole of these in consciousness. because of this unchanging relation between the two sides of the manifest LOGOS who is one. How shall we describe this individualized consciousness? First. The yogi wants to make his body match his mind. That relation alone it is which makes matter cognizable. he enters a dangerous region. desire predominates. The Hatha Yoga seeks to control the vibrations of matter. Desiring them. and so on. the whole of it. and the great strain imposed on the comparatively intractable matter of the physical plane sometimes leads to atrophy of the very organs. On the physical plane. the activity of which is necessary for effecting the changes in consciousness that would be useful. the whole of your consciousness including your activities which the Western psychologist puts outside mind. it tries to attain them. predominates. Each quality is present all the time. When he begins to work on the brain centres connected with ordinary consciousness. as pure reason. Becoming aware of them. and thus of those of the external words to which those changes are related. intelligence is the dominant note. Only on the basis of Eastern psychology is Yoga possible. On the astral plane. it desires them. and cognition. This is often useful as regards the prevention of disease. but serves no higher purpose. and is more likely to paralyse than to evolve. and his answer to it and the change in it that he makes by his. and the Self becomes aware of changes within himself. answer re-arrange again the matter of the body which is his envelope. active. On the mental plane. or stable ones. activity predominates. the " subconsciousness'. So we have the three aspects of consciousness-intelligence. and thought and activity are subject to desire.
Mind
What is mind ? From the yogic standpoint it is simply the individualized consciousness. In your combinations of matter you get rhythmic. it is aware of things. and by this control to evoke the desired changes in consciousness.
. although desire and thought are present. with activity and inertia less apparent. but one predominates. To practice Yoga you must build your bodies of the rhythmic combinations.the material vehicles. activity. Matter may be known by consciousness. Hence the rhythmic changes in matter are rightly called its cognizability. The weak point in Hatha Yoga is that action on this line cannot reach beyond the astral plane. So with the matter that belongs to them.

Stages of Mind

The mind has five stages, Patanjali tells us, and Vyasa comments that "these stages of mind are on every plane". The first stage is the stage in which the mind is flung about, the Kshipta stage; it is the butterfly mind, the early stage of humanity, or, in man, the mind of the child, darting constantly from one object to another. It corresponds to activity on the physical plane. The next is the confused stage, Mudha, equivalent to the stage of the youth, swayed by emotions, bewildered by them; he begins to feel he is ignorant--a state beyond the fickleness of the child--a characteristic state, corresponding to activity in the astral world. Then comes the state of preoccupation, or infatuation, Vikshipta, the state of the man possessed by an idea--love, ambition, or what not. He is no longer a confused youth, but a man with a clear aim, and an idea possesses him. It may be either the fixed idea of the madman, or the fixed idea which makes the hero or the saint; but in any case he is possessed by the idea. The quality of the idea, its truth or falsehood, makes the difference between the maniac and the martyr. Maniac or martyr, he is under the spell of a fixed idea. No reasoning avails against it. If he has assured himself that he is made of glass, no amount of argument will convince him to the contrary. He will always regard himself as being as brittle as glass. That is a fixed idea which is false. But there is a fixed idea which makes the hero and the martyr. For some great truth dearer than life is everything thrown aside. He is possessed by it, dominated by it, and he goes to death gladly for it. That state is said to be approaching Yoga, for such a man is becoming concentrated, even if only possessed by one idea. This stage corresponds to activity on the lower mental plane. Where the man possesses the idea, instead of being possessed by it, that one-pointed state of the mind, called Ekagrata in Sanskrit, is the fourth stage. He is a mature man, ready for the true life. When the man has gone through life dominated by one idea, then he is approaching Yoga; he is getting rid of the grip of the world, and is beyond its allurements. But when he possesses that which before possessed him, then he has become fit for Yoga, and begins the training which makes his progress rapid. This stage corresponds to activity on the higher mental plane. Out of this fourth stage or Ekagrata, arises the fifth stage, Niruddha or Self-controlled. When the man not only possesses one idea but, rising above all ideas, chooses as he wills, takes or does not take according to the illumined Will, then he is Self-controlled and can effectively practice Yoga. This stage corresponds to activity on the buddhic plane. In the third stage, Vikshipta, where he is possessed by the idea, he is learning Viveka or discrimination between the outer and the inner, the real and the unreal. When he has learned the lesson of Viveka, then he advances a stage forward; and in Ekagrata he chooses one idea, the inner life; and as he fixes his mind on that idea he learns Vairagya or dispassion. He rises above the desire to possess objects of enjoyment, belonging either to this

or any other world. Then he advances towards the fifth stage-Self-controlled. In order to reach that he must practice the six endowments, the Shatsamapatti. These six endowments have to do with the Will-aspect of consciousness as the other two, Viveka and Vairagya, have to do with the cognition and activity aspects of it. By a study of your own mind, you can find out how far you are ready to begin the definite practice of Yoga. Examine your mind in order to recognize these stages in yourself. If you are in either of the two early stages, you are not ready for Yoga. The child and the youth are not ready to become yogis, nor is the preoccupied man. But if you find yourself possessed by a single thought, you are nearly ready for Yoga; it leads to the next stage of one-pointedness, where you can choose your idea, and cling to it of your own will. Short is the step from that to the complete control, which can inhibit all motions of the mind. Having reached that stage, it is comparatively easy to pass into Samadhi.

Inward and Outward-Turned Consciousness

Samadhi is of two kinds: one turned outward, one turned inward. The outward-turned consciousness is always first. You are in the stage of Samadhi belonging to the outward-turned waking consciousness, when you can pass beyond the objects to the principles which those objects manifest, when through the form you catch a glimpse of the life. Darwin was in this stage when he glimpsed the truth of evolution. That is the outward-turned Samadhi of the physical body. This is technically the Samprajnata Samadhi, the "Samadhi with consciousness," but to be better regarded, I think, as with consciousness outward-turned, i.e. conscious of objects. When the object disappears, that is, when consciousness draws itself away from the sheath by which those objects are seen, then comes the Asamprajnata Samadhi; called the "Samadhi without consciousness". I prefer to call it the inward-turned consciousness, as it is by turning away from the outer that this stage is reached. These two stages of Samadhi follow each other on every plane; the intense concentration on objects in the first stage, and the piercing thereby through the outer form to the underlying principle, are followed by the turning away of the consciousness from the sheath which has served its purpose, and its withdrawal into itself, i.e., into a sheath not yet recognised as a sheath. It is then for a while conscious only of itself and not of the outer world. Then comes the "cloud," the dawning sense again of an outer, a dim sensing of "something" other than itself; that again is followed by the functioning of the nigher sheath and the Recognition of the objects of the next higher plane, corresponding to that sheath. Hence the complete cycle is: Samprajnata Samadhi, Asamprajnata Samadhi, Megha (cloud), and then the Samprajnata Samadhi of the next plane, and so on.

The Cloud

This term--in full, Dharma-megha, cloud of righteousness, or of religion--is one which is very scantily explained by the commentators. In fact, the only explanation they give is that all the man's past karma of good gathers over him, and pours down upon him a rain of blessing. Let us see if we cannot find something more than this meagre interpretation. The term "cloud" is very often used in mystic literature of the West; the "Cloud on the Mount," the "Cloud on the Sanctuary," the "Cloud on the Mercy-Seat," are expressions familiar to the student. And the experience which they indicate is familiar to all mystics in its lower phases, and to some in its fullness. In its lower phases, it is the experience just noted, where the withdrawal of the consciousness into a sheath not yet recognised as a sheath is followed by the beginning of the functioning of that sheath, the first indication of which is the dim sensing of an outer. You feel as though surrounded by a dense mist, conscious that you are not alone but unable to see. Be still; be patient; wait. Let your consciousness be in the attitude of suspense. Presently the cloud will thin, and first in glimpses, then in its full beauty, the vision of a higher plane will dawn on your entranced sight. This entrance into a higher plane will repeat itself again and again, until your consciousness, centred on the buddhic plane and its splendouis having disappeared as your consciousness withdraws even from that exquisite sheath, you find yourself in the true cloud, the cloud on the sanctuary, the cloud that veils the Holiest, that hides the vision of the Self. Then comes what seems to be the draining away of the very life, the letting go of the last hold on the tangible, the hanging in a void, the horror of great darkness, loneliness unspeakable. Endure, endure. Everything must go. "Nothing out of the Eternal can help you." God only shines out in the stillness; as says the Hebrew: "Be still, and know that I am God." In that silence a Voice shall be heard, the voice of the Self, In that stillness a Life shall be felt, the life of the Self. In that void a Fullness shall be revealed, the fullness of the Self. In that darkness a Light shall be seen, the glory of the Self. The cloud shall vanish, and the shining of the Self shall be made manifest. That which was a glimpse of a far-off majesty shall become a perpetual realisation and, knowing the Self and your unity with it, you shall enter into the Peace that belongs to the Self alone.

Lecture II SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

In studying psychology anyone who is acquainted with the Sanskrit

" yuj. means "yoked together. when you are speaking or using Sanskrit. jungere. you are able to gather the meaning of the word yoga and to see how much that word covers in the ordinary processes of the mind and how suggestive many of the words connected with it are. in explaining Yoga. one is often at a loss for the English
. Although Samadhi has come to mean. To a Sanskrit-knowing man the two words are obviously related to one another. checking all distractions. the built-together. as sign-posts to direct you along the road to the meaning. "to join"--and out of that a number of English words are derived and will at once suggest themselves to you: junction. And that term. we have seen. or facts connected with this one root. "to place." To an only English-knowing person that does not convey any very definite idea. Samadhi therefore means "composing the mind. such as the English--of course. but so Anglicized that it is continually heard amongst ourselves. as well as by practical. the trance-state which results from perfect composure. The Sanskrit. but merely expressing one of the fundamental meanings of the word He is using. used constantly in English. by the mere form of a word. "to enter into". so to speak. which conveys to the Hindu a perfectly straightforward meaning: "Yoga is Samadhi. conjunction. When you find Sri Krishna saying that "Yoga is equilibrium. through the Latin." in the Sanskrit He is saying a perfectly obvious thing. not connoting anything very deep. or thoughts. as in French." with the prepositions sam and a. each word needs explanation. is one that lends itself better than any other to the elucidation of psychological difficulties." collecting it together. Now the root of the word yoga is a word that means " to join. is the closest to the meaning of the Sanskrit word yoga. therefore. or facts. "to merge in". It has a limited number of important roots." he is conveying a clear and significant idea as to what is implied in Yoga. by this verbal connection. in some ways. and so on: all these ideas are classified together under the one head of "Yoga". Samadhi. meaning "completely together". "to be in relation to". yoking and the Sanskrit of equilibrium is "samvata--togetherness". literally means " fully placing together. wherein you get jugare.or truths. and that root appears in many languages. we have a word like rapport." and Samadhi derived from the root dha.tongue must know how valuable that language is for precise and scientific dealing with the subject. In other tongues. And so with another word. so that you may trace all allied ideas. straightforward statement. Over and over again. The language is constructed in a fashion which enables a large number of meanings to be connoted by a single word. " being en rapport. is derived from this same Sanskrit root so that all through the various words. tongue. its original meaning should not be lost sight of." and its etymological equivalent in English would be " to compose " (com=sam. disjunction. And when Vyasa." a French expression. "to be connected with". and then an immense number of words constructed on those roots. because Yoga implies balance. so that it is a perfectly simple. or the well-made. . an explanation or relation is suggested. the constructed. investigation the two words yoga and samadhi are inseparably linked together. by a natural sequence of ideas. For the word yoga. and so on. Thus. the commentator. The English word "yoke" again. Thus by philological. posita= place). acting. a word used in the commentary on the Sutra I quoted before. says: "Yoga is the composed mind. a hint is given.

and then find the reconciliation in the Theosophic statement of the facts in nature. but the great majority are Samkhyan. with God. but you will be able to use it practically for yogic purposes in a way that. Hence it is often called Nir-isvara Samkhya. unless you realise the fact that it is founded on a particular Indian philosophy and that the meaning of nearly all the technical words in it is practically limited by their meaning in philosophy known as the Samkhya. now current here and in the West. There are certain phrases belonging rather to the Vedanta.equivalent of the manifold meanings of the Sanskrit tongue. so far as its philosophy is concerned. the existence of Deity. Take the Bhagavad-Gita. Alike in the Bhagavad-Gita and in the Yoga-sutras of Patanjali the terms are Samkhyan. But you must always be more or less in a fog in reading it. and I earnestly advise those of you who can do so. therefore. That reconciliation and understanding of these
. they being the very foundation on which these books are built up. and historically Yoga is based on the Samkhya. I do not want to take you into details. Samkhya does not concern itself with. If you are a student of Theosophy. starting from different standpoints. without this knowledge. and the force of all the allusions they make. and it is taken for granted that the people reading or using the book are familiar with the outline of the Samkhyan philosophy. you will not only read your Bhagavad-Gita with much more intelligence than before. to make the literature of Yoga more intelligible to you than it can be to a person who is completely ignorant of Sanskrit. For if you grasp these. is almost impossible. one looking at the world from the standpoint of matter. then the knowledge of the facts will enable you to translate the different phrases. at least to acquaint yourselves sufficiently with this admirable language. I must outline part of the Samkhya philosophy. For its understanding. but only with the becoming of a universe. who use it as the book to help in the spiritual life. the order of evolution. but I must give you the leading ideas of the philosophy. Probably there are many who know that book fairly well. But so closely is it bound up with the Yoga system. the other from the standpoint of Spirit. that part which deals with the relation of Spirit and matter. note the difference from this of the Vedantic conception of Self and Not-Self. for neither the Westerner nor the non-Sanskrit-knowing Indian can ever really understand the translations of the chief Indian books. The directions which fall from the lips of the Lord of Yoga in the Gita may sometimes seem to you opposed to each other and contradictory. unless they acquaint themselves in some degree with the outlines of these great schools of philosophy. who are not familiar with most of its precepts. the Samkhya without God. because they sometimes are phrased in the Samkhyan and sometimes in the Vedantic terms. that the latter is called Sesvara Samkhya.
Its Relation to Indian Philosophies
Let me ask you to think for a while on the place of Yoga in its relation to two of the great Hindu schools of philosophical thought.

the well-known gunas--attributes or qualities. it will become will. The fact that Purusha has this attribute of immutability tells us that He is eternal. Spirit and Matter. Pause for a moment on the name Prakriti. and each Spirit is an individual. Eternity is not. as implying technical Samkhyan ideas. it will become activity. life or force is Sat. Purushas are many. stands Prakriti. Ananda. but distinct everlastingly the one from the other. simultaneous. a mere abstraction. and confused ideas about it give rise to many misconceptions. and immutability. The Samkhyan School starts with the statement that the universe consists of two factors. and to describe Matter as "forth-making" is to give its essence in a single word. The second of the characteristics is life or prana. Though these are not the same in nomenclature as the Vedantic Sat. yet they are practically identical. can Purusha make manifest his powers. everlasting time. Eternity is changeless. is Ananda. a unit of consciousness. Awareness or cognition is Chit. becomes ex-is-tence--outbeing. homogeneous units. the second in the Samkhyan duality. Chit. mobility and inertia. If you grasp it. One characteristic is awareness. immutable. Purusha is a unit. "forth-make" or "manifest" himself. countless Purushas are to be found in the world of men. by Matter. countless in number. No succession in time. the first pair of opposites. Now the conception as to the relation of Spirit to Matter is a very peculiar one. The name indicates its essence. The three qualities of Prakriti. or Purusha. the Bhagavad-Gita becomes illuminated. or more accurately Spirits and Matter. according to the Samkhya. they are homogeneous. But while they are countless in number they are identical in nature. Prakriti has also three characteristics. and all the phrases about action and actor. Such are the three attributes of Purusha. Prakriti is one. and the mistake of saying "I act. and these three are alike in all. Let us investigate its root meaning. Only by the presence of. Inertia enables immutability to become will. Over against these Purushas. Rhythm enables awareness to become cognition. and in Prakriti. the essence of eternity. That which is Being--is-tence. homogeneous units. The third characteristic is immutability. when Prakriti is thought of as
. Purushas are discontinuous. albeit everlasting--if such could be--could give eternity. These are rhythm. Only by Prakriti can Spirit. Every Purusha has three characteristics. for changelessness is a mark of the eternal." and kri is the root "make". they are all of the same nature. Continuity is the mark of Prakriti. as some mistakenly think. Purusha is helpless. The Spirit is called Purusha--the Man.apparently contradictory phrases is the object to which I would ask your attention now. the essence of eternity. being innumerable. Pra means "forth." become easy to understand. Of these units there are many. Mobility enables life to become activity. Matter. Everlasting time has nothing to do with eternity. Matter is that which enables the essence of Being to become. Prakriti is a continuum. Without the presence of Prakriti. Time and eternity are two altogether different things. it will become cognition. Prakriti thus means "forth-making ".

You can hardly say that it reflects the Purusha. No guna was manifest. the Purusha. But the presence of Purusha brings about certain internal changes. So with Purusha and Prakriti. the guna called Sattva-rhythm. The propinquity of the magnet makes the soft iron a magnet. What happens when Purusha influences Prakriti? The quality of awareness in Purusha is taken up by. then there is a change in Matter--not outside. it attracts or repels the end of an electric needle. Combinations in which either of the
. Purusha does nothing. in that balanced equilibrium of Prakriti. The three gunas. as in the case of the magnetic influence. When Purusha is in propinquity to Matter. where material objects are concerned. and this.away from Purusha. Will or desire has appeared in it. You cannot say that Prakriti absorbs the influence. in Prakriti. or reflected. energy. an adaptation to our ideas of time and space. force. unconscious. in the guna called Tamas--inertia. while appropriating awareness.mobility. and it becomes force. it attracts steel. The "coming near" is a figure of speech. for we cannot posit "nearness" of that which is timeless and spaceless--Spirit. The combinations in which awareness-rhythm or cognition predominates become "mind in nature. The three attributes of Purusha cannot be separated from each other. and we may have combinations which show preponderantly awareness-rhythm. or reflected in. and shows itself out as will or desire in Prakriti. The quality that we call immutability in Purusha is taken up by. undergo a marvellous change. under this influence of Purusha. a change has taken place by the mere propinquity of. says Vyasa." the subject or subjective half of nature. One guna was balanced against another. Purusha acts on Prakriti by propinquity. But in the presence of Purusha all is changed. An internal change has occurred in both cases from the propinquity of another object. is under the influence of the whole three-in-one Purusha and cannot but also take up subordinately life and immutability as activity and will. Cognition has appeared in it. but in it. in the guna called Rajas--mobility. With this change in Prakriti another change occurs. or presence of. has appeared in it. in order not to make a mistake in putting it. so that Matter is called jada. The three gunas were in a state of equilibrium. If a magnet be brought near to a piece of soft iron or an electrified body be brought near to a neutral one. In combinations one quality or another may predominate. And so with mobility and inertia. but from Purusha there comes out an influence. It comes near Prakriti. I do not know what words to use. causes a difference in the equilibrium of the three gunas in Prakriti. certain changes are wrought in the soft iron or in the neutral body by that bringing near. So that. but at the same time a change has taken place in matter. The quality that we call life in Purusha is taken up by. The Purusha has lost nothing. Activity. By the word propinquity is indicated an influence exerted by Purusha on Prakriti. or immutability-inertia. and Prakriti begins to live. Hence rhythm. In the presence of a postively electrified body the electricity in a neutral body is re-arranged. motionless. and the positive retreats while the negative gathers near the electrified body. or life. or reflected. it manifests poles. the qualities of the magnet are produced in it. are in equilibrium. counter-balancing and neutralizing each other. and it becomes cognition in Prakriti. poised the one against the other. nor can the three attributes of Prakriti be separated each from each. activity. would be brought about by their propinquity. "dead".

The actor is the subjective part of nature.[FN#7: A friend notes that the first is the Suddha Sattva of the Ramanuja School. who is existence. in the lower sense of the same. the mind. In Him arises the thought that He is Self-existence. According to the Vedantic view the Self is one. bliss. omnipresent. manyness. Nature does everything. the Self is everywhere existent.
.] We have thus nature divided into two. support. restrain. being consciousness. diversity. and in that thought. and the second and third the Prakriti. is the reflection of the other qualities of Purusha--life and immutability--in the gunas." "I am one. "Eko'ham. Sat-Chit-Ananda. The gunas bring about the universe. Rajas and Tamas. so does the One Self permeate. contemplating their interplay. He exists. The drama of existence is played out within Matter. these qualities are found at every point. as we try to grasp this idea of the one universal Self. We have mind. in every place. Purusha is the spectator before whom the drama is played. That with which it works--objective nature. He is happy. From that thought of the Self. Most of the Gita teaching is built upon this conception of the Samkhya. The Self is One." is mistaken and confused. the one reality. all diversity of the many is born. From that imagination of limitation arises form. Self-created. the gunas act. himself remaining unchanged. He is not the actor. for the production of forms and for the expression of consciousness. division. not he.other two predominates become the object or objective half of nature. The Self is everywhere conscious. The man who says: "I act. the manifold universe comes into existence. The Putusha only looks on when the drama is played before him. the " force and matter " of the western scientist. As we try to follow the outline of Vedantic thought. Let us now turn to the Vedantic idea. We have now in nature everything that is wanted for the manifestation of activity." Where the Self is--and He is everywhere--there is existence. all-embracing. There is no division between these qualities of the Self. imagines limitation. we find that we are carried into a loftier region of philosophy than that occupied by the Samkhya. which is the reflection of awareness in rhythmic matter. the subject and the object. He is conscious. all-permeating. vivify all. or spirit-matter. Nothing exists except the Self--that is the starting-point in Vedanta. Thus we have in nature everything that is wanted for the production of the universe. and there is bliss. the Self is everywhere blissful. There is no spot on which you can put your finger and say "The Self is not here. All permeating. In that limitation. Everywhere. consciousness. from that thought of limitation. the Self is everywhere present. This is the predominant note of the Bhagavad-Gita. He is spectator. there is consciousness. Matter is the limitation imposed upon the Self by His own will to limit Himself. and unless that is clear in our minds we can never discriminate the meaning under the phrases of a particular philosophy. "let me be many. and we have force and matter. and all that Spirit does is to look at it. for he has infused all powers into Prakriti and sits apart. bahu syam. so is the Self everywhere in the infinite diversity of objects. He is only the spectator and looks on. all-controlling. I will to he many". not actor. allinspiring. It is written in the Gita that as the air goes everywhere." is the thought of the One. The Self. As the ether permeates all matter. but only a spectator. Purusha has nothing more to do.

in the limited expression of the individual Self. become the will that seeks for happiness. though seeming different in manifestation. if the Purusha. eternally wise. imagines himself to be bound by matter. eternally free. save by his own ignorance. Because in Him is the will to manifest. So with the existence of the Self: the Self-existence of the universal Self becomes. the particular Self. because he imagines himself ignorant. that deepest essence of human life. both are the same in essence. it vanishes as a dream. His own foolish fancy limits his inherent powers. the eternally pure can never be tainted by matter. and thus reproduces within limitations the qualities of the Self.
. but it says that these spirits are only reflections of the one Self. the power to know. So does the bliss of the universal Self. and the bliss of the Self becomes will. the longing for happiness. therefore is the law of life the seeking for happiness. he is impure. That is the fundamental idea of the Vedanta. from the minutes" organism to the loftiest Logos. And so in the limited. the power to manifest. the resolve to obtain it is what we call will. The universe appears by the Self-limitation in thought of the Self. the deepest part of all. and the power to act. in the limited Self. because he imagines himself bound. preservation of existence. Then it accepts the spirits of the Samkhya-the Purushas. Here is the great difference between the Samkhya and the Vedanta. for Maya is the self-identification of the Self with his limitations. then there is delusion and bondage. should identify himself with the matter in which he is reflected. With the vanishing of delusion he finds that he is eternally pure. and the power to act. It is the play of the Supreme Self that makes the limitations. he is deluded. Otherwise put: that which was universal awareness becomes now cognition in the separated Self. the awareness of the whole becomes the cognition of the individual. with the limitations which the universal Self has imposed upon them. The eternally free can never be bound by matter. that which in the universal Self was awareness of itself becomes in the limited Self awareness of others. the seeking for Self-realisation. the eternally knowing can never be deluded by matter. the eternally Self-determined can never be ruled by matter. for bliss. in the particularised Self. and the power to will. but are really identical with Him. he is under the domain of Maya. emanated by the activity of the Self and that they all reproduce Him in miniature. the universe is not. the Self-determination of the Self. identifying himself with his limitations. The difference comes with limitation. the consciousness of the Self. and the existence of the Self becomes activity. Then just as in the Samkhya. which are apparently portions of the universe. the essential characteristic of every sentient creature. of the Supreme Self. all manifestation at once comes into existence. so in the Vedanta. cognition. activity. Because in Him is all bliss. if the Self.and behold! all existence becomes possible. We have the power to know. The moment the Self ceases to think it. these are the reflections in the particular Self of the essential qualities of the universal Self. the power to know. with the narrowing of the universal qualities into the specific qualities of the limited Self. he is bound. because he imagines himself impure. becomes. he is ignorant. These are the three great powers of the Self that show themselves in the separated Self in every diversity of forms. the power to will.

Now. as I said. is thoroughly intelligible from the Hindu standpoint as an almost accurate representation of Samkhyan philosophy. and in these he thinks. to whom we shall return in a moment. the Spirit appropriates portions of Matter. According to Vedanta the Self is the only actor. The Vedanta. for they are not passive watchers. In the Samkhya. in order that He may manifest His powers through it. And hence you find in them the three qualities which you find in the Supreme. It is the view of the scientist. although. criticised by Sir Oliver Lodge. but with a very great difference. Theosophy repeats. the Atma-buddhi-manas.limitation. He appropriates that matter in order that He may manifest His own capacity. He has Force and Matter. and shows out his quality of bliss. and shows his quality of cognition. Theosophy. The Samkhya is the view of the universe of the scientist: the Vedanta is the view of the universe of the metaphysician. through those he shows out his activity. The Monad takes to himself from the universe of matter atoms which show out the qualities corresponding to his three qualities. He imagines limitation and matter appears. and wills and acts. because the Self has willed them into existence. We call these Self-limited selves Monads. All that the Vedanta says of the universal Self and the Self. the Self willed to hear. and there were ears. As says the Upanishad: the Self willed to see. in fact. He takes to himself combinations that are mobile. the ears. Matter changed to reflect the Spirit. and there was mind. what light does Theosophy throw on both these systems? Theosophy enables every thinker to reconcile the partial statements which are apparently so contradictory. and this actor is the "spiritual man" of the Theosophical teaching. with the Vedanta. he has Mind in Matter. They are units' and these represent the Purushas of the Samkhya. He creates an actor for Self-expression. Now notice the difference of phrase and thought. The eyes. but he has no Purusha. and there were eyes. they are as spectators who pull the strings of the players of the stage. all else is maya: there is no one else who acts but the Self. proclaims the universal Self. that another idea would make it purely Samkhyan. He takes the combinations that are inert. as the will to be happy. He takes to himself rhythmic combinations. Purusha is the spectator and never the actor. being above the fivefold universe. The Self appropriates matter. that these Monads reproduce the nature of the universal Self whose portions they are. Haeckel unconsciously expounded the Samkhyan philosophy almost perfectly. the Self willed to think. There is the distinction between the Samkhya and the Vedanta: in the Samkhya the propinquity of the Purusha brings out in matter or Prakriti all these characteristics. His last book. is the view of the metaphysician he seeks the unity in which all diversities are rooted and into which they are resolved. as the Vedantin says. in the Vedanta. So close to the Samkhyan is his exposition.
. he has not yet supplied that propinquity of consciousness which the Samkhya postulates in its ultimate duality.According to the Samkhya. the mind exist. indifferent to the "why" of the facts which he records. and we say. the Prakriti acts and not the Purusha. and through those expresses his own characteristics--an enormous difference. Self alone exists and Self alone acts. the spiritual Triad. but active agents in the drama of the universe. according to the Vedanta teaching.

he always posits the vivifying influence of Spirit. inseparable through the period of manifestation. In the one you have this Self and His sheaths. and in that he. the particularised Self of the Vedanta. is the result of the Purusha's propinquity to Prakriti. according to the Vedantic teaching. a reflection in matter of Purusha. That is the value of the Theosophical teaching. or Triad. Thus we get Atma. which speaks of Matter everywhere but always implies that the Spirit is looking on. beyond the physical plane. Learn the principles and you can explain all the theories. the plane of Varuna. you will call it spiritualised Matter. it gives you the principles and leaves you to study the philosophies. and that this presence makes the work of Matter possible. Spirit-Matter everywhere.
. while the materialist makes Spirit the product of Matter. Then. beyond the astral plane. stands Self-conscious and Self-determined. plus Buddhi. to the statement "mind is material. Either phrase is equally true. The threefold manifestation. and that becomes Atma. so long as you remember that both are always present in every manifestation. you will know that the writer is only speaking on the Samkhyan line. The Monad of Theosophy is the Jivatma of Indian philosophy. the subject of the Samkhyan philosophy. He reigns in changeless peace and lives in eternity. Although the Samkhyan may use materialistic terms. He appropriates an atom of the manasic plane and embodies. Really a gulf divides them. the plane of Agni. He takes to himself an atom of the Atmic plane. the Self embodied in the highest sheaths. He dwells beyond the five planes of matter. or Akasic. If you are a scientist. as it were. plus Manas. and in that sense is a spectator." you will not be confused. if you are a metaphysician you will call it materialised Spirit. but the play of Spirit-Matter. incorporates his will. Atma-buddhi-manas. The terms of Theosophy can be easily identified with those of other schools. That triad is the reflection in the fivefold universe of the Monad beyond the fivefold universe. the plane of Vayu. when reading the constant statement in Indian philosophies that "mind is material. and that becomes buddhi. Beyond the Atmic. and reflects in that his aspect of cognition. on every plane of our fivefold universe. He appropriates an atom of the Buddhic plane. beyond the Buddhic plane. that what you see is not the play of matter alone. We are nearer to the Vedanta than to the Samkhya. Beyond all these planes the Monad. and it becomes Manas.The Monad remains ever beyond the fivefold universe. his activity in it. in reading an ancient book. Thus you can readily see that you are dealing with the same concepts but they are looked at from different standpoints. the plane of Kubera. You will not. the Purusha of the Samkhya. as it were. and you study them with a torch in your hand instead of in the dark. But as said above. and in the other the Subject. although the language they use may often be the same. when you come. what do we find with regard to all the manifestations of consciousness? That they are duads." confuse this with the opposite view of the materialist which says that "mind is the product of matter"--a very different thing. he appropriates matter. but if you know the principles you can put the statements of the two philosophies in their own niches and will not be confused. beyond the mental plane. Now when we understand the nature of the spiritual man. the Self.

and we have Buddhi. its brother quality. cognition. and in order that we may be able to follow out really what this means. as the Vedanta says. cognition. divides it up into three or. yet it cannot exist absolutely alone. and as reflecting itself in activity. cognition reflected in activity is Manas in man or Brahma. The activity is there. Hence the Indian psychologist investigating this property. the Vedantin here makes a mistake). because consciousness is a unit. but only with one. you will find a particular word used for it which. It is said to be fourfold. Similarly with the other two. the will is there. makes a unity out of their apparent diversity. Buddhi and Ahamkara? Ask anyone you like. The fourth. but the sum of the three: Manas. Let us think of cognition as pure as it can be. this in the universe is represented by Vishnu. The functions of the mind must be suppressed. means "internal organ". Mind. in the wide sense of the term. Buddhi and Ahamkara. desire or will. Though in cognition that aspect of the Self is predominant. then
. Let us try to analyse it for ourselves. and Chitta. as we have seen. But you cannot separate cognition. which sums up the three but is not other than they. Let us apply that to Antahkarana. and see whether light will come upon it by using the Theosophic idea of a triplet summed up in a fourth.Mind
"Yoga is the inhibition of the functions of the mind. activity. the active mind. the very essence of cognition. into four (with all submission. We know what Manas is. the pure reason. what Buddhi is. though subordinate to it. This is the old idea of a trinity in unity. reflected in itself. The whole Self is there in every act of cognition. we must go more closely into what the Indian philosopher means by the word "mind"." says Patanjali. but what is this Chitta? What is Chitta. being made up of Manas. The Chitta is not a fourth. Buddhi and Ahamkara are the three different sides of a triangle. the sustaining wisdom of the universe. the creative mind. Manas. Blavatsky uses this summation as a fourth to her triplets. Where there is cognition the other two are present. This antah-karana is the word always used where in English we use "mind". but this fourfold division is a very curious division. completely from the others. One cannot exist separate from the others. P. Take cognition. and although we are only concerned with that part of consciousness which we specifically call cognition. what Ahamkara is. turned on itself. Ahamkara. has three great properties or qualities: cognition. but the summation of the three. that is not really a fourth. outside Manas. you will find that it is of the vaguest kind. Now let us think of cognition looking outwards. for she follows the old methods. If you take up any Vedantic book and read about mind. When cognition similarly reflects itself in will. translated. Buddhi. the Samkhyan subject.' which triangle is called Chitta. and we have a mixture of cognition and activity which is called Manas. and record his answer. in the universe. we cannot get cognition all by itself. not in relation to activity and desire. Now Yoga is not immediately concerned with all these three. Over and over again H. but it is only used in relation to cognition.

the Atma-buddhi-manas.ùin that perfectly controlled mental body. but only His tool or instrument. Now what is the ordinary condition of the mental body? As you look upon that body from a higher plane. represented by Mahadeva in the universe. Inhibition of the change of consciousness stops the vibration of the mental body. In the mental body of a Master there is no change of colour save as initiated from within. The colour of the mental body of a Master is as moonlight on the rippling ocean. It is only an outer sheath that He uses when He needs to communicate with the lower world. Still it. that causes vibration in the matter in which that consciousness is functioning. which is taken as equivalent to mind for practical purposes. that in Yoga the Self is always the consciousness plus the vehicle from which the consciousness is unable to separate itself. Sometimes a vibration from without has caused a change in consciousness. the "I am I" in man. the three taken together. What is then Chitta? It is the summation of the three.it becomes Ahamkara. Within that whiteness of moon-like refulgence lie all possibilities of colour. the inhibition of vibrations and changes alike. which He can take up or lay down at His will. All that is above the body you cannot leave is the Self for practical purposes. you see constant changes of colours playing in it. the totality of the three. Suppress thought. never still. And here remember what I said previously. plus Ahamkara--and we can find no fourth. Thus wee have found within the limits of this cognition a triple division. Quiet it. Because of the old way of counting these things.
The Mental Body
We must now deal with the mental body. is to be realised as separate from the mental body. the checking of the vibration of the mental body checks the change in consciousness. and a corresponding change in the colours in the mental body. and the spiritual Triad. Hence the mental body is taken as the starting point.
. then the change will send a wave of delicate hues over the mental body which responds only in colour to changes initiated from within and never to changes stimulated from without. If there is a change of consciousness. sometimes from without. any vibration. Yoga is the stopping of all these. you get this division of Antahkarana into four. That is the first step. Under these conditions. changing colour with swift rapidity throughout the whole of it. The mental body is a body of ever-changing hues and colours. Manas must be identified with the Self. plus Buddhi. His mental body is never His Self. but nothing in the outer world can make the faintest change of hue sweep over its steady radiance. no outward stimulus can produce any answer. before it is of any use to consider the further progress of the Self in getting rid of its envelopes. making up the internal organ or Antahkarana--Manas. You must be able to take up and lay down your mind as you do a tool. The first thing for a man to do in practical Yoga is to separate himself from the mental body. You find that they are sometimes initiated from within. to draw away from that into the sheath next above it. and your first attempt must be to draw away from your mental body. If a change of consciousness occurs within.

When the conquering of the causal body is complete then you go to the conquering of the Buddhic body. then the Monad is ruler over matter and is prepared for a new cycle of activity. responsive only to the impulses that you choose to put upon it. Sheath after sheath has to be transcended. when spectacle ceases. And in the commentaries. The only answer is: " He remains in his own form. no longer slave but master. There you come to a very serious difference with the Theosophical view of the universe.By that idea of the stopping of all changes of colour in the mental body you can realise what is meant by inhibition. You have to begin with your mental body. for according to that view of the universe." It has become part of the outer. someone jumps up and asks a question. His only function was to look on at the play of mind. and the proof of transcending is that it can no longer affect you. still and quiet. when you come to a difficulty. when all these functions have been suppressed. From this you pass on to the conquest of the causal body in a similar way. How will you be able to tell when the mind is really coming under control. The answer of Patanjali is: "Then the spectator remains in his own form. when it is no longer a part of your Self? You will begin to realise this when you find that. but it cannot affect you. the spectator himself almost vanishes. the moment that the mind does not respond to the outer. You have to learn how to stop the whole of those vibrations. and so the Spirit sinks back into latency. can stir the mind. by the action of your will. it can no longer be identified with the Self. what is left?" In the Indian way of teaching. what is left? He can no longer be a spectator. When mastery over the Buddhic body is complete. you pass on to the~conquest of the Atmic body. and then for the Monad to realise himself. then can you say of it: "This is not my Self. the question which raises the difficulty is always put. The moment that nothing outside you can harass you." It is the end of the human pilgrimage. When the play of mind is gone. the duality is transcended. for when he has only his spectator left. the unfortunate student asks: " What becomes of the mind itself? If you suppress all the functions. no longer capable of manifestation. The functions of mind are stopped in Yoga.
." He is now out of manifestation. enriched by the experiences through which his manifested aspects have passed. since there is nothing to see. That is the highest point to which humanity may climb: to suppress all the reflections in the fivefold universe through which the Monad has manifested his powers. you can check the current of thought and hold the mind in perfect stillness. how to make the mental body colourless. But to the Samkhyan the difficulty is very great. save under your own impulse.
Mind and Self
You cannot be surprised that under these conditions of continued disappearance of functions. You can affect it." Theosophy answers: "The Monad remains.

Lecture III
. so that he cannot. as veil after veil falls away. Just as you are more vividly conscious than the early man. but not so the centre. but has thereby increased its vividness. so it is as we climb up the stairway of life and cast away garment after garment. and at last a stage is reached when the centre knows itself at every point of the circumference. dealing with Eastern ideas. more vivid. or less vivid. is very restricted in its range. And remember that all control is exercised over sheaths. You have largely transcended his powers of consciousness. by that process of withdrawal his sense of Self-reality becomes keener. The centre grows more powerful as the circumference becomes more permeable. not less and less. Self-realisation becomes more and more vivid with each successive withdrawal. our consciousness should be mightier. or the condition of Nirvana. that you are the Self. He has no idea of the sweep of your consciousness. so that as the Self puts aside one veil of matter after another. As sheath after sheath becomes subject to your Self. not the controlled. It is important to remember that. as sheath after sheath is cast aside. identify it with nothingness or unconsciousness--an entirely mistaken idea which is apt to colour the whole of their thought when dealing with Yogic processes. We become more conscious of existence. your powers and feelings grow in strength. He is the controller. not less keen. He is the Inner Ruler Immortal. he realises himself more and more. more conscious of knowledge. and body after body becomes the tool of your Self. But is that consciousness of the early man more vivid. than that of an undeveloped man.All analogy shows us that as the Self withdraws from sheath after sheath. that is a misconception. Self-realisation becomes more intense. it is less vivid. when we touch the Monad. vigour and lucidity of your own mental consciousness. more conscious of Self-determined power. because often Western readers. you control your Not-Self. then. just as your consciousness is more alive. then shall you realise the truth of the saying of the Upanishad. he does not lose but gains in Self. the Inner Ruler. AS the Self withdraws himself from sheath after sheath. The consciousness of the early man limited to the physical body. even in thought. in consequence of misunderstanding the meaning of the state of liberation. The centre still remains. of your abstract thinking. separate himself from it--the state of the early undeveloped man--and compare that with the strength. not less. When that is accomplished the circumference vanishes. Imagine the condition of a man who identifies himself completely with the body. over portions of the Not-Self. The Self is never controlled. the immortal. Your consciousness is astral rather than physical. As you learn to truly live. recognises in regular succession that each body in turn is not himself. By analogy.realisation. with occasional touches of dream consciousness. than yours? Certainly you will say. and more perfect. The faculties of the Self shine out more strongly. You do not control your Self.

Bearing those three sub-divisions in mind. so in the man of Buddhi. does not know how he gains the object he is aiming at. within that Marga or path of knowledge. and nature gives it to him. we find that by one of these a man treads the path of knowledge by Buddhi--the pure reason. That Self-determining faculty. Often the man. or whether he is going to follow the more active path of Manas. I would remind you. science is used to understand the Not-Self. You may remember that in speaking yesterday of the sub. and Manas. and the other the same path by Manas--the concrete mind. Just as in the man of Ahamkara. we find that three subdivisions occur. Let me remind you. Both the metaphysician and the scientist must be supported by Ahamkara.divisions of Antah-karana. Ahamkara and Buddhi are present. following the old Indian conception. that is necessary in all forms of Yoga. Metaphysics is used to realise the Self. he willed to have it. cognition reflected in activity. is the one to which I am asking your attention. This is also seen in Yoga in the man of Ahamkara. I pointed out to you that there we had a process of reflection of one quality in another. and within that way. it comes to his hands. the needs of the moment. but are subordinate. before I begin. and Ahamkara. however. The Yoga we are studying specially concerns the Marga of Jnanam or knowledge. as everywhere in nature. Ahamkara and Manas are not absent. that. You remember it is written in the Upanishad that the weak
. But what of the third? What of the will. Whether a Yogi is going to follow the purely cognitional way of Buddhi.
Methods of Yoga
With regard to what I have just called the two great methods in Yoga.YOGA AS SCIENCE
I propose now to deal first with the two great methods of Yoga. or fails to serve. of which Ahamkara is the representative in cognition? That certainly has its road. as it serves. The scientific method. that we are dealing only with the science of Yoga and not with other means of attaining union with the Divine. that deliberate setting of oneself to a chosen end. but either is grasped. in whom will is predominant. you will very readily be able to see that these two methods of Yoga fall naturally under two of these heads. though I am only dealing with this. but the "how" is obscure to him. cognition reflected in will. but play a subsidiary part. and within the limits of the cognitional aspect of the Self. in both cases he needs the self-determining will in order to sustain him in his arduous task. one related to the Self and the other to the Not-Self. either is thrown aside. there remain also the other two great ways of Bhakti and Karma. cognition reflected in cognition. and using either buddhi or manes indifferently as a means to that end. but it can scarcely be said to be a "method". and in the man of Manas. Buddhi and Manas are subordinate. Will breaks its way upwards by sheer unflinching determination. keeping its eyes fixed on the end. the sub-type of will in cognition. you find Buddhi.

what are called the Siddhis are direct obstacles. they turn ever inwards. the envelope of Atma in the manifested fivefold world. the other may be described as seeking the Self by the Not-Self. which make up the universe of the Not-Self. seek him through the active working Manas. where unity is sensed. Those who seek the Self by the Not-Self.
To the Self by the Self
Let us look at this a little more closely. Nothing else will serve his end. The contemplative orders in the Roman Catholic Church offer a good environment for this path. and he must turn a deaf ear. Now what are these two great methods? One of them may be described as seeking the Self by the Self. then. and turn away from the outer world. a hindrance. until Buddhi as it were opens out into Atma. until he is strong enough to close himself against the outer stimuli or allurements. long-sustained. strenuous. Perseverance is wanted.man cannot reach the Self. Such a man must utterly disregard the Not-Self. that intense determination which is the very essence of individuality. they are outward-turned. climbing yet further. by which he rises away from the concrete into the abstract regions of the mind. To begin this. Knowing that the Self is within him. It is along that difficult and strenuous path that the Self must be found by way of the Self. envelope after envelope. Those who seek the Self by the Self. in every successful Yogi. hard thinking. the other is the path of the scientist. and if you will think of them in that fashion. as far away as possible. and by a process of rejecting them he reaches the glory of the unveiled Self. His method. Strength is wanted. ever seeking to find the Self by diving into the recesses of his own nature. he tries to strip away vesture after vesture. The world must no longer be able to touch him. hard thinking. strenuous. with only a film of atmic matter. And you must have. I think you will find the idea illuminative. a temptation. Always turning away from the world. He turns inwards. Seclusion will help him. a blind eye. The path on which the faculty of Buddhi is used predominantly is. until the Self is seen in his splendour. to all the allurements of matter. by which he reaches from the abstract region of the mind up to the region of Buddhi. upon the Self. they learn to realise the Self. He must shut his senses against the outside world. But that
. patient meditation. the path of the metaphysician. They put the outer world away. still by strenuous thinking. It is the path of the philosopher. seek him through the faculty of Buddhi. to all the diversity of objects. and not helps. his attention. and by study of the Not-Self. The senses must be closed against all the vibrations that come from without. It is a snare. Hence for those who walk along this road. further continued. must be strenuous. he must give up concrete thinking and dwell amidst abstractions. the Yogi must fix his thought. as just said. with its appropriate methods. Determination is wanted. The one is the path of the metaphysician.

or dream that they are hindrances. in the search for the Self by turning away from the Not-Self. It is necessary for the man who seeks the Self by the Self to have the quality which is called "faith. But some Theosophists urge avoidance of all use of the astral senses and mental senses. Truly it is beyond reason. They declare that the Siddhis are to be avoided. but they do not object to the free use of the physical senses. then. in denouncing the subtler senses only. not based on understanding but on lack of understanding. as obstacles in the way. for not by reasoning may the Self be discovered. is necessary for the treading of this path. of the reality of the Self within you. and more in the West. or of the Roman Catholic recluse. only that can cheer the pilgrim in the darkness that comes down upon him. and that unshakable conviction. who denounces all the senses. is far more sweeping than some of our modern Theosophists are apt to imagine. no reason. they are also obstacles in their grosser manifestations. for not by reason may the Self be known as real. that the Siddhis are things to be avoided. everything that puts you into contact with the outer world. the human perseverance would break. Only that imperious conviction that the Self is. with the difficulties of the seeking for the Self. and all the objects of the senses. whether you call them Siddhis or not. but forget that the Indian who says this also avoids the use of the physical senses. while forgetting the temptations of the physical senses. It is the witness of the Self within you to his own supreme reality. which you call astral and mental.statement that you find so often. think that much is gained by acuteness of the physical senses. In the search for the Self by the Self. impediments as much as the other. they treat them as objects of denunciation. the human courage would be daunted. Many Theosophists here. every sense is a hindrance and an obstacle. No such division exists for the man who tries to understand the universe in which he is. It is not logical. and of the other faculties in the physical brain. which is shraddha. and those who denounce the Siddhis should rise to the logical position of the Hindu Yogi. Obstacles. but the moment the senses are acute enough to be astral. This exaggerated fear of the Siddhis is only a passing reaction. all that is not Self is an obstacle." in the sense in which I defined it before--the profound. This imperious faith is to the Yogi on this path what experience and knowledge are to the Yogi on the other. That is not rational. To the man who would find the Self by the Self. He closes physical eyes and ears as hindrances. are all the senses.
To the Self Through the Not-self
. and there is no logic. your ears. That is the one thing that is worthy to be dignified by the name of faith. Truly it is not based on argument. in the void that he must cross before--the life of the lower being thrown away--the life of the higher is realised. that nothing can shake. Why not? If the senses are obstacles in their finer forms. It is necessary. intense conviction. because without it the human mind would fail. is just as much an obstacle as the subtler forms of the same senses which put you into touch with the subtler worlds of matter. or the faculties begin to work in astral matter. Your eyes.

and then think out your means." And thus he constantly rejects them. To him the realisation of the Self comes through the study of the Not-Self. the Self amid the diversity of forms. calmly choose your ends. Both are ways of Yoga. and is led into the understanding of the One. by understanding his own nature. Therefore. These cannot be my Self. rejecting one form of matter after another. he uses the keenest senses in order to understand. only to find that that also is changing and manifests not the changelessness of the Self." Climbing still higher. Along the line of pure thinking--the metaphysical line--you may reach the Self. finding not in these the Self he seeks. Thus you may find your way to the Supreme. the stability of the Self. these continual transformations. these are obviously the antithesis of the eternity. he has to find the real among the unreal. if you will only separate in your thought the two methods. gradually. using there the finer astral senses. the eternal among the changing. Just as you cannot study the physical world without the physical senses. these obscurities. he studies the astral world. the lucidity. How is he to do it? By a close and rigorous study of every changing form in which the Self has veiled himself. This is the way of the scientist. He climbs on to the astral plane and. Both are included in the directions that you may read in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. by studying nature in others as well as in himself. the path you should tread.Turn from him to the seeker for the Self through the Not. in order scientifically to understand the universe. he goes from the mental to the Buddhic plane. In this path of finding the Self through the Not-Self. and these must be kept separate in your thought. the so-called Siddhis are necessary. plane after plane. step by step. active Manas. he climbs on into the mental plane. he has to climb upwards. in the later part of his Sutras. by analysing in order to understand. some hints as to the way in which the Siddhis may be developed. He says: "This is not my Self. where the Self begins to show his radiance and beauty in manifested union. and finally to reject. After the astral world is conquered and rejected. By studying the Not-Self around him and in him. ever following the track of forms. Thus we see that there are two methods.Self. and there still studies the ever-changing forms of that Manasic world. in the widest sense of the term physical--you may reach the Self. Those directions will cease to be self-contradictory. This changing panorama. Thus he does by knowledge and experience what the other does by pure thinking and by faith. so you cannot study the astral world without the astral senses. slowly. Patanjali has given. by learning to know himself and to gain knowledge of others. Thus by studying diversity he reaches the conception of unity. So also along the line of scientific observation and experiment--the physical line. of the man who uses the concrete. As he learns to conquer the physical plane. by the separation of the Not-Self from the Self. only once more to reject them: "These are not the Self. nor the mental world without the mental senses. and you will not 'be in any difficulty about the method you should employ.
Yoga and Morality
.

His object is not the purification of life for the sake of humanity. I want further to point out to you that it is not a science of ethic. ethic. The difference is in the motive. But you should not expect to find moral precepts in a scientific text book of psychology. It is a moral thing to abstain from meat. The science of psychology is the result of the study of mind. as well as a Yoga of the right-hand path. The science of ethic is the result of the study of conduct. The follower of the left-hand path may also reject meat. but the purification of the vehicle. like Yoga. For you must remember that there is a Yoga of the left-hand path. why then should one studying Yoga. the
. expect to find moral precepts in it? I do not say that morality is unimportant for the Yogi. but for the reason that be would not be able to work so well with his vehicle if it were full of the rajasic elements of meat. The outer action is the same. are the foundation of it. that he may be better able to acquire power. if he wants to follow the left-hand path. true morality is absent. The confused idea makes people think that in Yoga they ought to find necessarily what are called precepts of morality. It is absolutely necessary in the first stages of Yoga for everyone. it is not a moral act to abstain from meat from the yogic standpoint. One of the greatest yogis of all was Ravana. Ethic is a science of life. as just said. so as to bring about the harmonious relation of one to another. that goes without saying. rejecting meat because the way of obtaining it is against the law of compassion.The next point that I would pause upon. is the fact that Yoga is a science of psychology. and are. yet they are subsidiary to the main topic. The difference between the white and the black magician lies in the motive. Psychology and ethic are not the same. and though asceticism is always found in the early stages. You might have a white magician. but only a means to an end.[FN#8: Terms while and black as used here have no relation to race or colour. because thereby you are lessening the infliction of suffering. called yama and niyama. it is not necessary. Yoga is there also followed. The black magician is often as rigid in his morality as any Brother of the White Lodge. the disciple of the black magician is often the more ascetic. On the contrary. as a science of psychology. if judged by the outer action alone. and sometimes in the later. and ask you to realise. and not an investigation into the nature of mind and the methods by which the powers of the mind may be developed and evolved. But to a Yogi who has mastered these. No practice of Yoga is possible unless you possess the ordinary moral attributes summed up in yama and niyama.] Of the disciples of the black and white magicians. Some of the greatest yogis in Hindu literature were. But still they are yogis. a follower of the right-hand path. If you understand the scope of Yoga aright. it is all-important. A man studying the science of electricity is not shocked if he does not find in it moral precepts. I pause on this because of the confusion that exists in many people as regards this point. while the outer actions are often identical. men whom you would rightly call black magicians. Both men may be called moral. Though Patanjali gives the universal precepts of morality and right conduct in the first two angas of Yoga. though ethic is certainly the foundation of it. The motive marks the path. such a confusion ought not to arise.

The harvest is according to the sowing. he reaps the result which that law inevitably brings. and weed for weed. you will reap weeds. and he is trying to make his consciousness include the whole of humanity. As Ishvara is absolutely just. But not so the brother of the dark side. He knows that a discovery in chemistry does not depend upon his morality. If you sow rice. however vicious his private life may be. He wants to be isolated. whether his actions. and by Yoga he gained his power. a more effective servant in the helping of the world. Try to understand. and he does not confuse the laws of the two. compassion widens out his nature. He may be harsh and cruel. It is a matter of dry fact that the scientific man may be moral or immoral. provided that his immorality does not upset his eyesight or nervous system. you are always getting into bogs and changing your moral standpoint. Morality matters profoundly. when you expect laws belonging to one region of the universe to bring about results in another. and he would not think of doing an act of charity with a view to finding out a new element. and when you understand. in any other fields. if you sow weeds. he seeks if for himself. Where does morality come in. He wants power. and if you think it does. You may say: "What a strange thing that a man can force from God such a power. he seeks it that he may serve humanity and become more useful to mankind. rice for rice. the servant of the White Lodge. Ravana was a typical yogi of the left-hand path. When he strives for power. The end of the one is Nirvana. for the white magician has to deal with helping on harmonious relations between man and man. Both are yogis. there morality is an all-important factor. Inasmuch as he is learning to be a servant of humanity. The white magician must be patient. you will reap rice. A white magician may strive for power. the question whether he is good or bad to his fellow men does not touch this matter at all. but it does not affect these particular things. He was a great. as it were. by law we succeed. and holding that power for himself. By law we conquer. both follow the
." The laws of Nature are the expression of Divinity. the Avatara of evil. and harshness and cruelty tend to isolate him. the man who obeys a law reaps the fruit of that law.anti-Christ. either lowering or making it absurd. The end of the other is Avichi--the uttermost isolation--the kaivalya of the black magician. a marvellous yogi. he must observe the highest morality. He can afford to ignore compassion. that is what the Theosophist should do. is entirely outside the question. But when he is striving for power. Whether some other law is or is not obeyed. against the Divine Will in evolution. and he practiced Yoga to obtain the power of destruction. The things are in different regions. He will not fail in a well-wrought experiment. who summed up all the evil of the world in his own person in order to oppose the Avatara of good. are beneficial to man or not. The white magician must be compassionate. The black magician may quite well be harsh. But not so the black magician. where all separation has ceased. then? When you are dealing with a magician of the right-hand path. so that he may use it against the whole world. For this is a universe of law. a great destroyer. not merely the morality of the world. It is the same with Yoga. in order to force from the hands of the Planetary Logos the boon that no man should be able to kill him. he can put himself temporarily. The scientific man understands that. you will not fall into the blunders nor suffer the bewilderment many do. and if a man follows a law of Nature.

the five jnanendriyas or organs of knowing. says " the Vrittis are fivefold (panchatayyah). which comes through the tongue. and so on. fragrance. You have five senses. which comes through the sense of touch. synthesised by the mind into one idea. in the original. were it keener. drawing round him the five senses and mind as sixth. which comes through the eye. This admirably constructed language Sanskrit gives you in that very word its own meaning. it is not true of the abstract mind. Is this applicable to the states of mind also? Recall the shloka of the Bhagavad-Gita in which it is said that the Jiva goes out into the world. and each gets the result of the law he has followed: one the kaivalya of Nirvana. as usually translated. All this. If you think of an orange and analyse your thought of an orange. Western psychology says that nothing exists in thought that does not exist in sensation. Some elements are related to it in one way only. for wherever there is vibration there is sound. which build up the idea. the ways in which mind can exist. The mind unites the whole together into a single thought. you would hear the sound of the orange also. the ways of existing. made up of seven elements. roughness or smoothness. But there is a great deal of truth in it. the other the kaivalya of Avichi. You have to stop. For the present. you will find in it: colour.science of yoga. The word which is used for the states of the mind by Patanjali is Vritti. and you would hear musical notes made by the vibrations of the molecules.
Composition of States of the Mind
Let us pass now to the "states of the mind" as they are called. In order to guide you towards the power of stopping them--for you cannot stop them till you understand them--you are told that these modes of mind are fivefold in their nature. others are related in two ways. Later on every idea will be a heptad. It is made up of five elements. Vrittis means the "being" of the mind. each has five qualities. That is not true universally. and are called duads. coming through the sense of hearing. and of these there are at present five. heptad. triad. and are called monads." but pentad is a more accurate rendering of the word pancha-tayyah. A subsidiary meaning is a "turning around. That is the root reason for the "association of ideas". taste. Each element making up the idea comes from one of the senses. Only by these five senses can you know the outer world. every mode of existing in which the mind manifests itself. the five ways of knowing. which comes through the nose. when he deals with elements. They are pentads. synthesises the five sensations. nor wholly of the concrete. The word pentad at once recalls to you the way in which the chemist speaks of a monad. The Sutra. That may throw a little light on the subject. That is the literal meaning of this word." a "moving in a circle". If you had a perfect sense of hearing. than fivefold. the modes of the mind. It is not only that a fragrance recalls
. in Yoga. the modes of mental existence. is an orange. Every idea is a pentad. The elements with which the chemist is dealing are related to the unit-element in different ways.

and thus
. and combines them into a single precept. is not the whole truth. The whole process of thinking is the establishment of relations. then you begin to reason in order to establish relations between them. It does not recognise the part of the body in which the pin is. "establishment of relations. that a thought or idea is to the fivefold sensation. Manas. To use a well-known simile. but not at first conscious of the pin. it will break it up into its seven constituent rays and seven colours will appear. sensation is a mental function also.coloured light. from the Eastern standpoint. for perception is defined as relating a sensation to the object which causes the sensation. You only. If you put a prism in the path of a ray of white light. it is conscious of pain. nor yet conscious of where exactly the pin is. and the result is a concept. Put another prism in the path of these seven rays. When you have perceived many objects. by establishing that primary relation between Himself and the Not-Self. What is that nature that you find thus added? It is the establishment of a relation. that nothing exists in thought which is not in sensation.the scene and the circumstances under which the fragrance was observed. and as they pass through the prism. by establishing a relation. what is the next process of the mind? Reasoning: that is. Now having established that relation between yourself and objects outside. but because every impression is made through all the five senses and. so do we reflect His powers in ourselves. the more you will realise how it covers all the varied processes of the mind. What the white ray is to the seven. Reasoning is the establishment of a new relation. but they are unfortunately classed with feelings in Western psychology. which comes out from the comparison of the different objects that by perception you have established in relation with yourself. Just as He. brought matter into existence. or modes of the mind. the process is reversed and the seven become one white light. The mind is like a prism. for the senses are part of the cognitive faculty." If you look at it in that way. The very first process of the mind is to become aware of an outside world." "the vrittis. That is the meaning of the much controverted Sutra: "Vrittayah panchatayych. As at the present stage of evolution the senses are five only. the establishing of relations between different objects. "perceive" when you make a relation between the object and yourself. makes a universe possible. are pentads. following on the heels of sensation. adds to the sensations its own pure elemental nature. Of course. That is the very first of these mental processes." is true all round. when one is stimulated." because that runs through the whole of the mental processes. the later teachings will be more clearly understood. All thinking is the "establishment of relations. whereas perception is only a single thing. As I have already said. The mind is like the second prism. I use the more general term "establishing a relation. as perception is the establishment of your relation with a single object. we become aware of something outside ourselves--a process generally called perception. However dimly at first. the others are recalled. it unites the five sensations into one idea." and the more closely you look into that phrase. technically speaking. This one phrase. There is no perception. therefore. when a little baby feels a pin pricking it. establishing relations. and it is natural that it should be so. that sentence. It takes in the five sensations that enter through the senses. that is really what the mind adds. because the Supreme Thinker. thinking by the same method. the sixth sense.

painful and non-painful. pleasant and indifferent. the objection arises: "Well. A and Not-A--that is the only true and logical division. Now this controversy and tangle into which psychologists have fallen might be avoided if the primary division of feelings were a logical division. Feelings cannot be divided merely into pain and pleasure. so to say. Other psychologists say that indifference is merely pain or pleasure that is not marked enough to be called the one or the other." and when they resist or contract. then what is called pleasure is felt. The reason why there should be that classification is that the word pleasure and the word pain express two fundamental states of difference.carrying out every intellectual process. There is. and yet that creative faculty can by no means be classed with desire. They are not states of the Self so much as states of the vehicles. A and Not-A. modes of mind. a logical thinker. but in the exercise of the cognitive faculty there is an intense pleasure. we feel "pleasure. but in the vehicles in which that Self dwells. There has been much controversy among psychologists as to a third kind --indifferent.
Pleasure and Pain
Let us pass again from that to another statement made by this great teacher of Yoga: "Pentads are of two kinds. into painful and nonpainful. The Self. there is a third class. however." although it is not a logical division. When you use the creative faculty of the mind you are conscious of a profound joy in its exercise. When pleasure and pain are marked off as belonging only to the desire nature. and states of certain changes in consciousness. called indifference. Where the vehicles yield themselves to the Self." It has been rightly said: "Pleasure is a sense of moreness. You are becoming more by appropriating to yourself a part of the Not-Self. union with the Supreme. against any boundaries which seek to limit him. You become more by expanding yourself to His infinity. you will find the word "moreness" covers the case. Patanjali is absolutely logical and right. the pleasure of eating. "pleasure is
. a psychological reason why we should say "pleasure and pain. painful and non-painful. he divides all vrittis. not in the Self. and not to any aspect of the Self separately taken." The answer is: "Pleasure belongs to the Self as a whole. and that." Every time you feel pleasure. which is neither painful nor pleasant. being by nature unlimited. food. When you have a phrase that can be applied to the lowest and highest with which you are dealing. In order to avoid the quicksand into which the modern psychologists have fallen. therefore. Some psychologists divide all feelings into three: painful. you may be fairly sure it is all-inclusive. is ever pressing. Pleasure and pain belong to the Self as a whole. It will cover the lowest condition of pleasure. we feel "pain". When these limitations give way a little before the constant pressure of the Self. and he uses the logical division that includes the whole universe of discourse. You will find it true of the highest condition of bliss. and permit it to 'expand' as is its eternal nature." Why did he not say: "painful and pleasant"? Because he was an accurate thinker.

The more you know. But put an obstacle in the way. the stream would go on heedless of the addition." But that would not be a true answer. and make every endeavour to sweep it away. come into manifestation. rather than into 'painful and not-painful'?" A Westerner will not be at a loss to answer that: "Oh. The attraction lies in the first stages. in the first stages of it. It would be impossible to make the Self turn outward. and you will never be able to redeem a man from his excess unless you know why he does it. So that this sort of mental analysis is not only interesting. the most optimistic in the world. He knows that we need not go about seeking happiness. the greater is your power to help. a more keen and vivid life is felt. the danger. The next question that arises is: "Why does he not divide all feelings into pleasurable and not-pleasurable. who is bliss.moreness" is a true statement. Such is the Hindu position. If you understand these things your philosophy of life will become more practical. but pain is. In the first place the Hindu is not pessimistic. The real attraction in most coarse forms of excess is that they give an added sense of life. There lies the attraction. Take drink. If you had a stream of water flowing unimpeded in its course. being the all-permeating life of the universe. He would have remained unconscious of the streams. and you will be able to help more effectively people who fall into evil ways. which are in the modes of mind. so that the free flow is checked. pain is "lessness". That which
. if only streams of bliss flowed in on him. and the stream will struggle and fume against the obstacle. and meet that in your argument with him. The universe is full of pain. pouring more water into it would cause no ruffling. Therefore Patanjali says: "The vrittis are painful and non-painful. who would never dream of becoming drunk. but practically useful to every helper of mankind. that he naturally ignores pleasure and speaks of painful and not-painful. Watch people who are taking wine and see how much more lively and talkative they become. and these painful things are obstacles to be got rid of. for it is the essence of our own nature. and then the attraction ceases. Understanding the attractiveness of the first step. Happiness is not a secondary thing. Do not the Upanishads say: "The Self is bliss"? Happiness exists perennially within you. the Hindu is naturally so very pessimistic. He is the most optimistic of men. It is already ours. and many people have experienced that. The real attraction of drinking lies in the fact that. But he is profoundly reasonable. When they are stopped. He has not got one solitary school of philosophy that does not put in its foreground that the object of all philosophy is to put an end to pain. then you will be able to put your finger on the point of temptation. The Self. the increase of life. It is your normal state. You will necessarily be happy if you get rid of the obstacles called pain. Let us pause for a moment to ask: "Why should there be pain at all if the Self is bliss?" Just because the nature of the Self is bliss. To the infinity of bliss nothing could be added. Similarly. you must be happy." Pain is an excrescence. pain has no permanent place in it. It is a transitory thing. That stage is overstepped in the case of the man who gets drunk. You have not to seek it.

Pain gives power.
. does not shrink from pain. in his splendid poem of "Time and Satan. Thus pain not only awakens awareness." Power is pain transmuted. that in which all the seeds of karma are gathered Up. Hence the wise man. but not one pain would I let go. Hence in psychology. contrary to my nature. and we endeavour to throw it away. Pain purifies. It is the only thing that can awaken his attention. for pain is the teacher of wisdom. that which is other than the Self will best spur the Self into activity. antagonistic and repulsive. We try to get rid of that which causes us pain. declares that the karmic receptacle the causal body. Edward Carpenter said. It is the only thing that can rouse the Self. he shall reap his harvest of good later. By his past. It is contrary to our nature. it also organises the vehicles. slowly they become purified by suffering. It is true that a man may suffer so much pain that for this incarnation he may be numbed by it. Pain is necessary that the Self may force his vehicles into making efforts which develop and organise them. Therefore we find our commentator. and thus more life flows into them and they become strong. when dealing with pain. and in that way become ready for the handling of the Self. an outer world. It has a third function also. I see something of the great lessons pain can teach. It has a fifth function. inturned Self finds the surge of pain beating against him. happy. always basing itself on the ultimate analysis of the fact of nature. Out of my life story could efface without regret everything that it has had of joy and happiness. If you want to develop and organise your muscles. The next function of pain is the organisation of the vehicles. Pain makes the man exert himself. power. as I am and I look on the long life behind me. and along that line of thought we come to the great generalisation: the first function of pain in the universe is to arouse the Self to turn himself to the outer world. But even then. When that peaceful. what is this?" It arouses him to the fact of a surrounding universe. knowing these things. of difficulties and efforts. has for its builder all painful experiences. in yoga. you exercise them. and by that exertion the matter of his vehicles gradually becomes organised. rendered wholly or partially useless. that alone will cause effort. Especially is this the case when the pain has deluged in childhood. that which will check its current's smooth flow. Pain teaches. pain is the thing that asserts itself as the most important factor in Self-realisation. to evoke his aspect of activity. dreaming. you make efforts. That is the first function of pain. a life of storm and stress. It has a fourth function. All that is against the blissful nature of the Self is shaken by pain out of the vehicles. he awakens: "What is this." after he had described the wrestlings and the overthrows: 'Every pain that I suffered in one body became a power which I wielded in the next. he may have rendered present pain inevitable. All the best lessons of life come from pain rather than from joy.is contrary to it. it means purification. wisdom. When one is becoming old.

When we understand the places of joy and of pain. That foolish thought which you often find in an ignorant religion. Hence pleasure has its function as well as pain and that also is welcome to the wise. it is an intense joy. Hence happiness is a condition of illumination. the wise man takes either as it comes. He who is joy cannot grudge Himself to His children. and not wishing for that which is for the moment absent. That is the explanation of the value of the rapture of the mystic. to the true vairagya. as some unwise people do. it enables the Self more readily to manifest himself through the lower selves within us. which for the time makes him unconscious of all the lower worlds. if pain is so splendid a thing?" From pleasure comes illumination. subtle and gross alike. the vibrations are rhythmical. that pleasure is rather to be dreaded. we take it and utilise it. So we may pass through life. and the Self remains.
LECTURE IV YOGA AS PRACTICE
In dealing with the third section of the subject. and thus lead up to illumination. If pain comes. then both lose their power to bind or to upset us. is one of the nightmares born of ignorance and terror. and those rhythmical vibrations permit that expansion of the Self of which I spoke.but none the less can he turn it into a golden opportunity by knowing and utilising its functions. and every reflection of joy in the world is a reflection of the Divine Life. it harmonises the whole of his vehicles. and pointed out to you that. When it harmonises the vehicles of the Self from outside. dwarfed by a mistaken religionism. they all vibrate together. The Father of life is bliss. belonging to him. If joy comes. and when that great wave of bliss sweeps over him. and the glory of the Self is made manifest and he sees the face of his God. that it is possible for him to see that divinity which is cognate to himself. In pleasure all the vehicles of the Self are made harrnonious. as though God grudged joy to His children. both pleasure and pain are transcended. we take it and utilise it. for he understands and utilises it. Pleasure enables the Self to manifest. not jangled as they are in pain. You may say: "What use then of pleasure. So you should not fear joy any more than you fear pain. You can easily see how along this line pleasure and pain become equally welcome. who is bliss. Identified with neither. And if that be true. as it is true. according to the Samskrit word vritti. knowing its purpose. and a manifestation of the Self in the midst of matter. those states of mind
. We use both as means to a desired end. being of the nature of the Self. It is because for a moment the Self is realising himself as divine. born of love triumphant. content whichever may come to us. welcoming both pleasure and pain. and thus we may rise to a higher indifference than that of the stoic. Then comes the wonderful illumination. you will see that pleasure plays an immense part in nature. sweeps over the whole of his being. the knowledge of the Self. I drew your attention to the states of mind. A tremendous wave of bliss.

as a waveless lake reflects the stars. His answer was definite: " Without doubt. tied or related to any of these outside objects. but when steadily practiced they inevitably bring about the result. we see that the getting rid of relations will impose on the mind the stillness that is Yoga. These are the states which are to be inhibited. and declares that in the quietude of the mind and the tranquility of the senses. then the man becomes immortal. You will remember the phrase used in the Upanishad." that which binds a man to things. abolished. a man may behold the majesty of the Self. but it may be curbed by constant practice (abhyasa) and by dispassion (vai-ragya). We must acquire the opposite condition. modes of mental existence. where every passion is stilled." not bound. there are of inhibiting these modes. hard to curb as the wind. which puts it less technically and scientifically. they are the only two methods. 35. O mighty-armed. but more beautifully. We must separate ourselves from it. put an end to. absence of passion. by which this restless. The prefix "vi"--changing to "vai" by a grammatical rule --means "without. Raga is "passion. these ways of existence. no more establishing relations with objects. the mind is hard to curb and restless. By slowly and gradually drawing ourselves away from outer objects through the more potent attraction of the Self. reduced into absolute quiescence. difficult to bend.should be regarded as ways m which the mind exists. where no attraction for the objects of desire remains. or dispassion." or "in opposition to". Vai-ragya. the bonds which are made by desire between man and the objects around him. "When the bonds of the heart are broken.. of the mind. free from all raga. the separated Self finds
. and two ways only. Hence vai-ragya is "non-passion. VI. cit. attraction to. or. has as its main idea the clearing away of all passion for. The method of producing this quietude is what we have now to consider. Let us consider what these two familiar words imply. The reason for this inhibition is the production of a state which allows the higher mind to pour itself into the lower. They were given by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita. storm-tossed mind can be reduced to peace and quietude. waveless. The Self is ever attracted to the Self. they are modes of mind. strong. That attraction alone can turn these vehicles away from the alluring and repulsive objects that surround them. Vai-ragya and abhyasa. unruffled. addiction."[FN#9: loc. when Arjuna complained that the mind was impetuous. 35] These are the two methods. Remembering that thinking is the establishing of relations. All raga must be entirely put aside. to use the philosophical phrase of the West. the objects of the senses. reflects the higher. the only two methods. where all the bonds that unite the man to surrounding objects are broken.
Inhibition of States of Mind
Two ways. To put it in another way: the lower mind." How shall this dispassion be brought about? There is only one right way of doing it.

But by that you kill more than desire. we seize it while scarce aware that it is upon us. but do not efface love as regards the Self. your father and mother. unbroken carrying out of dispassion in the very midst of the objects that attract. put a wall between youself and all objects of desire. forgetting that love clings to the Self and seeks the Self. You cramp yourself by encircling yourself with a thick shell. when the great opportunity comes. abhyasa or practice. separated Selves. By curbing desire at every moment. You harden yourself where you ought to be softened. who is love. the bodies in which the Self is clothed. In your anxiety to acquire dispassion do not kill out love. and union with the one Self becomes the sole object of desire.ready way of quickly bringing about dispassion." It is true that it is comparatively easy to acquire dispassion in that way. all day long. can this great quality of dispassion become the characteristic of the man bent on Yoga. which does not come. But not instantly. It draws every separated Self to the other Self. in which the mind is knitted to objects by a myriad tiny threads. people lose the daily practice of dispassion towards the little things that are around them. but the love shall continue to grow. you isolate yourself where you ought to be embracing others. desert your wife and children. continual and unbroken. I have said that many confine abhyasa to meditation. "Practice" does not mean only meditation. In this great up-climbing. Another error is to wait for some big opportunity. The practice must be constant. and in the
. you kill love and not only desire. Love is the life in everyone of us. become cold to all around you. Then. The pain shall pass away. That is why so few people attain to Yoga. You must guard love--for it is the very Self of the Self. I must here warn you of a danger. Every day. and it is the wearisomeness of this strenuous. There is a rough-and. that never-dying force which draws Self to Self. continued endeavour that tires out the majority of aspirants. and fly to the desert or the jungle. then dispassion will be yours. you must practice it in the everyday things of life. for only on that line can success come. Love. while desire clings to the sheaths of the Self. by one endeavour. by their pettiness. it is far better to suffer from love rather than to reject it. by one supreme effort. He must practice dispassion constantly and steadfastly. Efface desire as regards the vehicles that clothe the Self. These things. and in waiting for the large thing. it means the deliberate.himself liberated and free. practice--that is what is demanded from the aspirant to Yoga. even though the love be an avenue of pain. even though the suffering be bitter. and to harden your hearts against all ties and claims of affection. Each one of us is a part of one mighty whole. and you cannot break through it. fail to attract attention. though this is the sense in which the word is generally used. Some say to you: "Kill out all love and affection. People prepare themselves for some tremendous sacrifice and forget the little things of everyday life. You put round the Self. Dispassion is the non-attraction to matter--a very different thing. we become indifferent to all the objects that surround us. In order that you may acquire dispassion. harden your hearts. That is implied in the word joined with dispassion. Suffer for love. Love is the desire of the separated Self for union with all other separated Selves. a barrier through which he is unable to pierce.

Many people. Do not imagine that you can make your mind still by a single effort. as in the battle of
.unity of the Self you shall finally discover that love is the great attracting force which makes all things one. rather than by reasoning. Then. his brush the brush of imagination. Suppose that you are a strong-minded and intelligent man. It is by and through human ties of love and sympathy that the Self unfolds. Keep it rigidly along a single line. At that highest point of thinking. putting in it gradually all the elements of the scene He must work at it as a painter works on his canvas. Always mistrust the teacher who tells you to kill out love. After a while. then stop. in this way. link after link. dwelling less and less on the surrounding objects and more and more on the central figure which is the object of his heart's devotion. when you have worked up to your highest point of reasoning and reached the last link of your chain of argument. brings it under control and steadies it. he brings the mind under command. waiting for what may come. and your mind will carry you no further. in steadiness and strenuous quiet. Do not allow the mind to go aside to other lines of thought. The drawing of the mind to a point. Suppose that connected links of thought and argument have been to you the only exorcise of the mind. fond of reasoning. cling desperately to the last link of the chain. and beyond that you can see nothing. Their love is not love watered down to coolness. the method must vary with the temperament of the practitioner. and steadiness will gradually result. Follow a logical chain of reasoning. becoming less human. namely. by their mistaken attempts. It is said of the Masters that They love all humanity as a mother loves her firstborn son. picture Him in any scene of His earthly life. is the method. bit by bit. He should picture some scene. What do we mean by meditation? Meditation cannot be the same for every man. and thus gradually. to be indifferent to human affections. Suppose--as is the case with many of you--that his object of devotion is Sri Krishna. as a painter paints a picture. Utilise that past training. Let him call imagination to his help. and there keep the mind poised. you will be able to maintain this attitude for a considerable time. At first the work will be very slow. but the picture soon begins to present itself at call. in trying to kill out love. Over and over he should picture the scene. That is the way which leads to the left-hand path. building it up. The object of devotion will be according to the man's religion. step by step. the method by devotion. not superhuman. Though the same in principle. in which the object of his devotion forms the central figure. but love for all raised to the heat of the highest particular loves of smaller souls. only throw themselves back.
Meditation With and Without Seed
The next step is our method of meditation. by this use of the imagination. the steadying of the mind. line by line. For one in whom imagination is stronger than the reasoning faculty. do not allow the mind to swerve a hair's breadth from it.

Remain poised. One word of warning. You cannot do this. and in the light of that Sun you shall realise your own identity with it. You should. Resting on Him. to obsession. Even if he says that matter is nothing and Spirit is everything. the highest point reached. and wait in the silence and the void. not the emptiness of impending sleep. the seed of meditation. poise yourself in silence and. until you are able to cling to your seed definitely for a considerable time. vigorous and alert. wait for what may come. incredible. That which will draw you back again is the trace of your past. stupendous. by sheer fear. however. Along such lines you can learn to bring into control your mind. a Form shall reveal itself. Let everything go. and that trace is a germ. It is the emptiness of alert expectation. This trace is what is called the privation of matter-. This is what is called "meditation with seed". This is meditation without a seed. the Charioteer. Drop the central thought. let your heart go out to Him with onepointed devotion. that it may express itself once more. despairing. then come to Sri Krishna. and know that that which is empty to the eye of sense is full to the eye of Spirit. a Voice shall be heard. Far as you
. that that which is silence to the ear of sense is full of music to the ear of Spirit. In that silence." before described. If your mind be not in that condition. and maintain throughout an alert attention. he yet does not like to lose touch with his body and. and thus to reach illumination. although you have dropped the very seed of thought. its mere emptiness is dangerous. losing that touch. the Friend and Teacher. In that empty sky. In that void. despondent. to discipline your vagrant thought. as said. while you are trying meditation with a seed. The central figure. suppose that I do rise into a higher region.Kurukshetra. But keep the mind in the position gained. The question is sometimes asked: "Suppose that I do this and succeed in becoming unconscious of the body. a Sun shall rise. Now let even that go. which remains under all these conditions. It leads to mediumship. because. and it tends to draw again to itself matter. or the central figure. you cannot destroy the traces which that thought has left. that is "the seed". You have gradually made the vagrant mind steady by this process of slow and gradual curbing. Suddenly there will be a change.samskara. imagine Arjuna on the floor of the chariot. is it quite sure that I shall come back again to the body? Having left the body. a change unmistakable. Then. and pass through the condition before sketched. You are in the "cloud. the idea. to possession. fixing your mind on the central figure. and a new state of Manvantara begin?" And the answer is the same from the Hindu psychological standpoint. as before. only when you have so disciplined the mind that it can hold for a considerable time to a single point and remain alert when that point is dropped. have no such fear. and there you are poised. he drops back to the earth after having taken so much trouble to leave it. The question is of the same kind as: "Why should a state of Pralaya ever come to an end. You can wisely aim at emptiness. Imagine the armies arrayed for battle on both sides. or the last link in reasoning. shall I be certain to return?" The idea of non-return makes a man nervous. and at last you are fixed on the central thought.

It is this also which. Such is the law of rest and activity: activity followed by rest. I will draw your attention to one fact which is of enormous help to the beginner. in Roman Catholicism. A Logos may leave His universe. For in the eternal. that remains and will inevitably draw you back. Your vehicles are ever restless. now thou must sow?" It refers to the great law of rhythm which rules even the Logoi. but in Buddhism. brings a man back to rebirth.may soar beyond the concrete mind. Those sounds. until your life-period is over. mantras are
. this state is spoken of and the disciple is pictured as in the silence. It is the expression of the law of rhythm. now thou must sow. left in the thinking principle. thou hast reaped. and in that which we call Time. at the close of the heavenly life. the Ishvaras --the law of the Mighty Breath. of what you have thought and have known. thou wilt obey. that samskara will bring you back.' And knowing this voice to be the silence itself. then the outward turning begins and a new universe comes forth. there is no maya without Ishvara. so that consciousness may be still? One method is the repeating of a mantra. And this voice will say: 'It is not well. and use the mechanical resource of a mantra. which compels every fragment which is separated for a time. the out-breathing and the in-breathing. as well as of human lives. for it was He who gave reality to it. In Light on the Path. although in eternity they be simultaneous and ever-existing. and so the ceaseless wheel of the universe. synchronise the vibrations of the vehicles into unity with themselves. you save these for other purposes. rest followed again by the desire for activity. and to become Brahma Nirguna.
The Use of Mantras
Let us see how far we can help ourselves in this difficult work. The writer goes on to say: "Out of the silence that is peace a resonant voice shall arise. There is no Ishvara without maya. to steady the vehicle. A mantra is a definite succession of sounds. they follow each other. in Islam. Not only in Hinduism. goes on." What is the meaning of that phrase: "Thou hast reaped. repeated rhythmically over and over again in succession. To escape from it would be to cease to be Ishvara. Is there any way to check these vibrations. but even then there is the samskara of the past universe. that trace. translation alters the sounds. the germ of maya from which He cannot escape. He may plunge into the infinite depths of being. Instead of using the powers of the will and of imagination. the shadowy latent memory. and it may drop away when He turns His gaze inward. Even in pralaya. Hence a mantra cannot be translated. a time comes when the rest is over and the inner life again demands manifestation. A mantra is a mechanical way of checking vibration. that wonderful occult treatise. Every vibration in the vehicle produces a corresponding change in consciousness. both rest and activity are ever present. You cannot escape your past and. and among the Parsis.

and thus enable the consciousness to become still. Fix your mind rigidly on the work before you for the time being. drop it. but it is not a mantra. That is." But put the same question in a different way. but not a mantra. it gives gratification to the ear. If you translate the words. and you may make it easier in the first stages by choosing out of your day's work a portion only. or the reading of a book. Poetry is a great thing: it is often an inspirer of the soul. I have often tried and failed. To become a Yogi. it will begin to do it. Many sit down for meditation and wonder why they do not succeed. for instance. The wonder would be if you did. and you wonder that you do not succeed. and doing that portion with perfect. the mantra ceases to be a mantra. the body will soon learn to do many things automatically. This is the only way of learning concentration. but it is not a living mantra. of its own accord. Your translation may be beautiful inspired poetry. and then you find that you can manage to do two or three things at the same time. women are very fond of knitting. and they are never translated. You ask a man if he can concentrate. these are mentally translatable. Now you scatter your thoughts for many hours. as Penelope unravelled the web she wove. Moreover. She goes on doing that day after day. and ask him: "Can you pay attention to a thing?" He will at once say: "Yes. no doubt. Do not let your mind wander from the thing before you.
Attention
Let us consider concentration. Anything will do." Concentration is attention. and it may be sublime and beautiful. or she will make a mistake. When a girl first learns to knit. Her attention must not wander from her fingers for a moment. If you pay attention to what you do. that is concentration. for when you have changed the succession and order of the sounds. He at once says: "Oh! it is very difficult. You must pay attention every day to everything you do. and presently her fingers have learnt to pay attention to the work without her supervision. How can you suppose that half an hour of meditation and twenty. your mind will be concentrated. Practise steadily in this way for a few months. It does not matter what the thing is. hard to do. and they may be left to do the knitting while she employs the
. You must practice concentration every hour of your active life. will enable you to concentrate during the half hour? You have undone during the day and night what you did in the morning. you may have a very beautiful prayer. It is the attitude of the mind that is important and not the object before it. and you will be surprised to find how easy it becomes to concentrate the mind. It may be the adding up of a column of figures. But a mantra is unique and untranslatable.three and a half hours of scattering of thought throughout the day and night. In England. The poetry. the inspired prayer. It will no longer harmonise the vibrations of the surrounding sheaths. and when you have done with it. The fixed attitude of attention. I can do that.found. you must be attentive all the time. If you force it to do a thing regularly. unflagging attention. she is obliged to be very intent on her fingers. after a time.

Then carelessness: this is one of the greatest difficulties with beginners. First.
Capacities of Yoga
Can everybody practise Yoga? No. because perfectly trained. in your thought. thinking wrongly about things. must be able to make up your mind. and do them perfectly. and so it is with Yoga. One of the great qualifications for Yoga is "right notion" "Right notion" means that the thought shall correspond with the outside truth. to be a success in Yoga in this life. It is further possible to train your mind as the girl has trained her fingers. The mind also. while the lower consciousness in the body will do the things of the body. Then doubt: you must have decision of will. The obstacles to Yoga are very inclusive. can be so trained as to do a thing automatically. and fit to go on to the definite study of Yoga. for the physical strain entailed by it is great. Lastly. let us run over the obstacles to Yoga as laid down by Patanjali. the unstable man cannot be a yogi. But every well-educated person can prepare for its future practice. and you become stronger and better. the mental body. so that his thought corresponds to fact.conscious mind on something else. At last. unimportant and vice versa. Sloth: a lazy man cannot be a Yogi.
Obstacles to Yoga
Before considering the capacities needed for this definite practice. one who is inert. energetic. and even a small amount of which makes Yoga futile. worldly-mindedness. Then languor of mind: you must be alert. Yoga is for him impossible. making the important. is obviously an obstacle. your highest consciousness can always remain fixed on the Supreme. Mistaken ideas is another great obstacle. as for anything else. it demands sound health. unless there is truth in a man. that a man shall he fundamentally true. In any of the sciences a man may study without being the possessor of very special capacity. illogical. although he cannot attain eminence therein. disease: if you are diseased you cannot practice Yoga. how shall he make the desperate exertions wanted along this line? The next. but he cannot hope unless he starts with certain capacities. instability: which makes Yoga impossible. It is only right to say that. Anybody with a fair intelligence may learn something from Yoga which he may advantageously practice. stupid. who lacks the power and the will to exert himself. they are inaccurate. they read a thing carelessly. For rapid progress you must have special capacities. Practice of this sort builds up the qualities you want. for
. Missing the point. These are practical lessons of Yoga.

and you will find that memory and imagination are the two things that evoke desire most strongly. You can do nothing with it by itself. Out of the desire nature. you cannot change desire by desire. because he finds the difficulties. It must be a desire so ardent and so firmly rooted. is the only creative power in you. There are three faculties which one must have to obtain success in Yoga. But suppose you know by past experience that in the long run it does not make you happier. If you have not this strong desire. and those means. As just said. But to be a great Yogi means lives of practice.if any special science needs particular capacities in order to attain eminence therein. "Desire ardently. and the resolution to go on until you do succeed. or you do not want it. To such a man an obstacle is like fuel that you throw on a fire. you cannot create desire by desire. if you want to desire Yoga. Thought. you cannot be a great mathematician in this life." Such a desire is needed to break the strong links of desire which knit you to the outer world. the stronger becomes the desire for it. its absence shows that you are new to the work. Suppose I am asked: "Can I become a great mathematician?" What must be my answer? "You must have a natural aptitude and capacity for mathematics to be a great mathematician. The more you think of a desirable object. To be born with such a special capacity means that you have practiced it in very many lives and now you are born with it ready-made. Every man can learn a little of it. and by imagination your powers are to be unfolded. but brings you sorrow. imagination. What is it in us that calls out desire? Look into your own mind." But this does not mean that you cannot learn any mathematics. trouble. Hence thought is the means whereby all the changes in desire can be brought about. if only you will use the right means. For it is only by thought that you can manage desire. the training of the desire nature cannot come. the science of sciences certainly cannot fall behind the ordinary sciences in the demands that it makes on its students. It burns but the more strongly as it catches hold of it and finds it fuel for the burning. the region of thought. ready to
. but you can begin to prepare for it in this life. To be a great mathematician you must be born with a special capacity for mathematics. You must go into another region of your being. and by thought you can make yourself desire or not desire. you will have been born with the necessary faculties in the present birth. after all. You want the thing. The first is a strong desire. You must have the conviction that you will ultimately succeed. So difficulties and obstacles are but fuel to feed the fire of the yogi's resolute desire. Then think of Yoga as desirable. Think about the results of Yoga and what it means for the world when you have become a yogi. are fairly simple. distress. without that strong desire you will never go through all the difficulties that bat your way. You can create desire by thought. If you have not that capacity. If these are behind you. exactly as you like. It is the same with Yoga. You have at once. and within the limits of the desire nature you are helpless in its grasp. and you will find your desire becoming stronger and stronger. He only becomes the more firmly fixed. that obstacles only make it more keen. Moreover. Why is it you desire to possess a thing? Because you think it will make you happier.

There is no more effective way of destroying a vice than by deliberately picturing the ultimate results of its indulgence. Resolve. Will is desire. By study.
. and the desires that he is determined to slay. work on the parallel bars: thus my arms. unconsciously he will begin to shrink from that which before attracted him. you can choose a harder thing to do. make it for a week." It is the same with the will. and if you can get him to think in that way. you must strengthen it. show him the profligate worn out. You may read a dozen books and your mind may be as feeble as in the beginning. The third requisite for Yoga is a keen and broad intelligence. an indomitable will. and you find your inner strength increases. Practice will make strong the little. transmuted. will grow strong. Jump over the momentary pleasure. I mean thinking. I do not mean the reading of books. The next thing after a strong desire is a strong will. You will have associated it in your mind with suffering. mind grow strong. One thing at a time is enough for a feeble will. for example. the way to get rid of that desire. unless you have a mind to control. and so on. desiring without the power to gratify. a keen. intelligence. if it is a butterfly mind like a child's. the very sight of those objects of desire will repel you. You have changed the want. and you will soon find that you will be ashamed to break your promise. and have changed it by your power of imagination. You must study. These are the things you want--a strong desire. Day after day it grows greater in power. And the would-be yogi has to use his thought to mark out the desires he will permit. then." and do it. and fix your thought steadily on the pain which follows the gratification of that desire. If your will is weak. your intelligence will be nurtured and your. When you have kept such a promise to yourself for a day. Let your mind dwell carefully on all the painful things. weak will that you have at present. Therefore you must develop your mind. First have a strong desire. he says: "My arms are weak. Then transmute it into a strong will. its directing is changed from without to within. Make yourself a promise to do such and such a thing at such a time. by slow reading and much thinking. If your mind is very unsteady. And when you have done that for a month or so. Deal with it as you do with other weak things: strengthen it by practice. Those are the capacities that you must unfold in order that the practice of Yoga may be possible to you. Persuade a young man who is inclined to be profligate to keep in his mind the image of an old profligate. but I shall practice gymnastics. You must unfold the mind by which you are to work. you strengthen the will. If a boy knows that he has weak arms.your hands. then for a fortnight. saying: "I will do such and such thing every morning. You cannot control your mind. But if you have read one serious book properly. Having succeeded. Think of the ultimate results. By this forcing of action. and will recoil from it instinctively. You will not want it. That comes by close study and thinking. you must make it steady. the very hideousness of the results frightens away the man from clinging to the object of desire.

if you realise that the great evolution of humanity goes on along two paths--the Path of Forthgoing. and He says: "Come. take these. Never in another life will that man be induced to put forth efforts for the toy of wealth. The object has been to bring out the power of the Self to develop the capacity latent in man. The philosophy is true. Does then God mock us with all the objects? No. the better for his evolution. when they become multi-millionaires. stimulate men to most strenuous effort. and so it learns to walk. and. But when they are grasped and held in the hand. it breaks into pieces and is of no use. they ask: "How shall we spend this wealth?" I read of a millionaire in America. of Pravritti--forthgoing on which are the vast majority of human beings. That is the way in which we learn to unfold the God within us.Forthgoing and Returning
It will help you. People fight and struggle and toil for wealth. fame. That is one of the difficulties in the India of today. the more desire a man has. make great efforts and struggle along to snatch these toys. and the younger souls now being born into the people are not ready for that philosophy. they are hypnotised by it. make efforts for them. that is the result of the play of the divine Father with His children. It may look like going back. But sometimes the desire for objects is lost too early. Why should Isvara have filled the worlds with desirable objects if He did not intend that desire should be an ingredient in evolution? He deals with humanity as a sensible mother deals -with her child. But the lesson for India at the present time is to wake up the desire. and in the development of human faculty. children. desires are necessary and useful. Here are love. and the child begins to crawl. and the Path of Return. When we seize the toy. but it is really a going forward. and the lesson is but half learned. money. weariness is the result. They repeat it by rote. On that path. in order to distribute the vast wealth which he accumulated. the leader of the nation. They were ready to throw away the fruit of action and to work for the Supreme to carry out His Will. who was walking on foot from city to city. love of power. Love of fame. You have a mighty spiritual philosophy. the man idolised by millions--follow him home. but always just out of our reach. So Isvara has put toys around us. he is inert. and they sink down into
. She holds a bright glittering toy before the child. but it belonged to those older souls who were ready for it. On the Path. Without these the stagnates. They are the motives that prompt to activity." And we. and there you will see the weariness of power. The mighty statesman. He learned his lesson. Walk. come and get them. and says: "Come and get it. or marga." Desire awakens. which was the natural expression for the souls who were born centuries ago. the result of the great lila may be seen. in doing this and in changing your desire. She does not give lectures to the child on the advantages of walking nor explain to it learnedly the mechanism of the muscles of the leg. the satiety that cloys passion. social consideration. like children.

desire is necessary for progress. For all those who are on the Path of Forthgoing. because there is nothing they desire enough to force them to exertion. is restless action by which the ordinary man is bound. sat or existence. The old lesson of putting different objects before souls of different ages. the manifestations of three aspects. and that universal "will-to-live" translates itself as the "desire for happiness" that you find in every man and woman. the seeking after desirable objects. No nation tries to live by the "Sermon on the Mount " It is not meant for ordinary men and women. These are. Desire on the Path of Forthgoing becomes will on the Path of Return. Work. and reason guides the bull. in harmony with the Divine. Thought on the Path of Forthgoing is ever alert. ananda or bliss. The nature of the Self is bliss. All these correspondences have a profound meaning if you will only look into them. That leaves the third. it is manifested life. What is the Path of Nivritti? It is the Path of Return. The consequence is that the nation as a whole is going downhill. is forgotten. and they ask: "What is the correspondence between bliss and will?" But if you come down to desire. Activity manifested as work is changed into sacrifice. It is the same as with the "Sermon on the Mount" in Christian countries. it becomes reason on the Path of Return. which it imagines will give it the happiness which is of its own essential nature. and thus its binding force is broken. The very form of the word shows It --"ex. People very often ask with regard to this: "Why is will placed in the human being as the correspondence of bliss in the Divine?" The three great Divine qualities are: chit or consciousness. in every sentient creature. Its nature being bliss. The last object of desire in a person commencing the Path of Return is the desire to work with the Will of the Supreme. Bliss manifested as desire is changed into will Wisdom manifested as thought is changed into reason. renounces all separate desires. to correspond with will. the yoke of reason is placed on the neck of the lower mind. You can only exist as you act outwards. but there the practical common sense of the people bows to it and--ignores it. which can only be reached when the preliminary steps have been successfully mounted. and thus works to turn the wheel of life as long as such turning is needed by the law of Life. flighty and changing. on the Path of Return work becomes sacrifice. works with the law. then. and the Self-determined will must take its place. only in miniature. and every one is now nominally aiming at ideal perfection. There desire must cease. and the objects of desire.inertia. you will be able to solve the riddle. activity. the soul. It is equally clear that existence and activity belong to each other. Has it ever struck you how surely you are justifying that analysis of your own nature by the way you accept
. but for the saint. as shown on the Paths of Forthgoing and Return. and some people are rather puzzled with that. Now it is quite clear that the consciousness is reflected in intelligence in man--the same quality. and which it is continually seeking to realise amid the obstacles of the world. he harmonises his will with the Supreme Will. Throw that nature down into matter and what will be the expression of the bliss nature? Desire for happiness. on the Path of Forthgoing. bliss. it seeks for happiness and that desire for happiness is to be transmuted into will. out of".

then the man is turning homewards. and when the same aspect rules from within. you must fight for everything you want to get. There is no difference in their nature. Imagine something strongly. And so. and by strengthening your imagination you will be making the great tool with which you have to practice in Yoga. When desire. thought and work are changed into will. You must purify each of your three working bodies--mental.
Purification of Bodies
The unfolding of powers belongs to the side of consciousness. First of all. the waters which spring up unfailingly. Desire is evoked and directed from outside. nature pours her treasures at your feet. of course. a strange change takes place. drawn out by outer objects. But the one is ignorant. because wrought by the Supreme Worker through His servant. Cease to ask that your own little water tank may be filled. imagining them. for he has become a channel through which all good gifts flow to those around him. and your means are limited and the wealth does not flow into your hands. and then everything will be yours. astral and physical. you will form your thought-body into the organisation that you desire. the source which never runs dry. initiated and ruled from within. Then you must use imagination. Seek the good. we see how desire and will are both the determination to be happy. You are clinging to the visible. and ask what you have done to deserve it? You do not ask the same about happiness. give up grasping. When a man has ceased to desire them. Imagine things. On the Path of Forthgoing. the other is self-conscious. and resent misery. When a man has really renounced. which is the natural result of your own nature. Hence desire on the Path of Forthgoing becomes will on the Path of Return. then he lives by renunciation.happiness as your right. as the painter imagines when he is going to paint. If you are engaged in any true work of charity. The thing that has to be explained is not happiness but pain. hut most people have it more or less. Without that purification you had better leave yoga alone. on the Path of Return. By such practice you will be strengthening your imagination. reason and sacrifice. work which cannot fail. to the fruit of action. Visualise an object if you have the power of visualisation at all: if you have not. and you will become a pipe.
. and. the things that are against the nature of the Self that is bliss. try to make it. purification of bodies belongs to the side of matter. It is an artistic faculty. it is will. your great creative tool. See how far you can reproduce perfectly a face you see daily. how shall you purify the thought body? By right thinking. looking into this. joined to the living source of all waters. once more. and so the wealth does not pour through your hands. Renunciation means the power of unceasing work for the good of all. then all treasures pour down upon him. what does it mean? It means that you have not yet learnt the true renunciation.

of venison. becomes purified in this way. Also. strength. they will give that. Think and desire.
. out of which the new plant will grow. The secret of all progress is to think and desire the highest. fruits. you will be what you have been thinking. As the thought body. full of life. the error. or inertia. and the absence of those which you desire not to have. All forms in the animal kingdom are built up to express animal desires and animal activities. If you thought of your coming trouble in the morning. are to be avoided. it would have lost its power. If you will imagine in your thought-body the presence of the qualities that you desire to have. those are the most highly vitalised. if you would deal with them through your imagination. Now the man who is to be a yogi must not touch any food which is on the way to decay. meat will give that. so he puts aside all those foods as not available for the work he desires. All flesh foods are really stimulants. and you would no longer feel the sting to the same extent. in exercise. and building up a body sensitive and strong at the same time. and thought of yourself as acting perfectly in the midst of it (you should never scruple to imagine yourself perfect). Desire nobly. of the nature of game. all food which is showing signs of decay (all alcohol is a product of decay). yes. a sudden spurs of energy. You cannot have a pure physical body with impure mental and astral bodies so that the work of imagination helps also in the purification of the physical. Vitality. in food. You might get rid of half your troubles and your faults. in order to purify the thought body and the astral body. The yogi cannot afford to use these in a body meant for the higher processes of thought. and when it comes. either rhythm. those are the rhythmic foods. The astral body is purified by right desire. food. and chooses his food out of the most highly vitalised products. Take for instance. and slowly in that way you will be able to build up perfection in yourself. yes. Think of yourself as facing that trouble and not minding it. but always on the perfected power. is packed full of the most nutritious substances. And how shall you purify the physical body? You must regulate it in all its activities--in sleep. and that all foods fall under one of these heads. you must turn to the astral body. all those things which have growth as their next stage in the life cycle. Those things belong to the tamasic foods--all foods. Why do you wait helplessly until you meet them in the physical world. but those are not the things which the yogi wants. then. many of the troubles of your life might be weakened if you would imagine them on right lines before you have to go through them.There is another use of the imagination which is very valuable. never dwelling on the fault. Now each of you must have in your life something that troubles you. which does not last. The Indian says truly that every sort of food has a dominant quality in it. But you must also regulate the physical body in all its activities. when the thing turned up in the day. and the astral body will evolve the organs of good desires instead of the organs of evil ones. Flesh foods come under the quality of activity. grain. in everything. for instance. you are half-way to having and not having them. or activity. they will give that. the weakness. All the foods which tend to growth.

force their impressions on your astral body. such as those brought about by practicing black magic. They will surge round you. But when the elementals find you are not destructive. because they are concerned with the building up of the lower kingdoms. those face us when we first come into touch with the astral plane. Here again the importance of pure and rhythmic food comes in. so that the whole of that great kingdom of nature hates the name of man. I am your friend. you belong to my past. impress their thoughts upon you. and kills animals. They try to bar the astral plane against man. and they try to scare back their creator. And naturally so. where a person has in any way been mixed up with objectionable thought forms of the stronger kind. thought forms of wickedness of all kinds. and try to frighten him. he must remain quiet. because of his destructive properties. and they will inevitably prevent your seeing and understanding things clearly. there this particular form of the dweller will be much stronger and more dangerous. tramples down vegetable things.Dwellers on the Threshold
Of these there are many kinds. so that you may have a kind of shell of objectionable hangers-on to your aura." Thus you will gradually exhaust and finally annihilate them. they become as friendly to you as they were before hostile. The seemingly causeless fears which some feel at night are largely due to this hostility. those that take pleasure in the scent of blood and spirits. and to them man is a really hateful creature. Of course. the Rupa Devas. not an embodiment of ruin. You are. elementals. First. You can only conquer them by sternly repudiating them: "You are no longer mine. I will give you none of my life. if you do not mind them. because if you use meat and alcohol. taking up the position: "I am a higher product of evolution than you are. When that rush of elemental force comes against the man entering on the astral plane. and not to my present. They cannot do anything. for they fear that he is bringing destructiveness into the new world. the great wave of elemental force will roll aside and let him through. Peace!" If he be strong enough to take up that position. This is perhaps one of the most painful difficulties that one has to face in treading the astral plane in consciousness for the first time. you attract the lower elementals of the plane. He spoils their work wherever he goes. not your enemy. They band themselves together to stop the one who is just taking his first conscious steps on the astral plane. growing out of the evil of lives that lie behind us. and the dislike of the beings on the plane for man is felt more strongly. That is why they dislike him so much. Those forms. The second form of the dweller on the threshold is the thought forms of our own past. at night. as objects. That is the first form of the dweller on the threshold. but appearing as outside forms. you can do nothing to me. really belonging to us. more sensitive to the astral plane than during the day. indifferent. and often desperate is the struggle between the neophyte and these dwellers from his past backed up
. That is the chief reason why every one who is teaching Yoga on the right-hand path absolutely forbids indulgence in meat and alcohol. who will much obstruct you in your efforts to see and hear correctly. these elementals of form.

The life which belongs to the Ego in him is taken up by the physical body. the same tenant. but through his virtues. the direct attacks of the Dark Brothers. and he must quickly form new ones and come again to rebirth here. and the animal life of the lower is strengthened. Now after death. virtues become tempters in the difficult regions of the astral and mental worlds. and assimilated with the lower lives of which the body is composed. of course. using higher powers for lower purposes. so that the Ego and his higher bodies are weakened. so to speak. and become the most terrible form of the dweller on the threshold. fire and air. that earth cannot crush you. Instead of serving the purposes of the Spirit. Those are mere trifles. and all are spoken of in books dealing with these particular subjects. and are utilised by the Brothers of the Shadow in order to entrap the unwary. in these cases. Now under those conditions. In addition to these there are. the golden mean is the virtue. paralysing himself. I am not here speaking of the four ordinary ordeals of the astral plane: the ordeals by earth. nor water drown you. degrading his mind to be the mere slave of his lower desires. Suppose a case in which a man during the past has steadily identified himself with the lower part of his nature and has gone against the higher. the Ego will sometimes become so disgusted with his vehicles that when death relieves him of the physical body he will cast the others quite aside. the man generally reincarnates very quickly. hardly worth considering when speaking of these more serious difficulties. you have to learn that you are entirely master of astral matter. it is dragged away for tile purposes of the lower. Those who belong to a Masonic body will recognise these ordeals as parts of the language they are familiar with in their Masonic ritual. but are unwise enough to think it can injure you. And even sometimes during physical life he will leave the desecrated temple. it will injure your physical body. and the most common form they will take is the form of some virtue which is a little bit in excess in the yogi. and the affinity between the old and new. asserts itself. There is one other danger also. You
. Those are. And thus. though I do not know that you will find anywhere in a single book a definite classification like the above. The yogi is not attacked through his vices. If on the astral plane you are threatened with danger which belongs to the physical. It is the extremes which are ever the vices. having torn himself away from his astral and mental bodies. both having had the same owner. and becomes part of the animal life belonging to the lower bodies. Under these conditions the old astral and mental bodies are not disintegrated when the new mental and astral bodies are formed and born into the world. very easy lessons. A curious change takes place in him. Of course. for a virtue in excess becomes a vice.by the masters of the black side. These are the various forms which the dweller may assume. he has no bodies with which to live in the astral and mental worlds. and the highly vitalised old astral and mental bodies will attach themselves to the new astral and mental bodies. etc. water. Now we come to one of the most terrible forms of the dwellers on the threshold. You may injure yourself by repercussion. for. taking up various forms and aspects.

The serious fault will not prevent him from becoming a disciple.may get a wound. The initiate pays for his faults ten times the price he would have had to pay for them as a man of the world. out of astral experiences. That is why I have put the ideal so high. A man may be thoroughly capable along one line. speak truth. and then you shall be free from the illusions of the astral world. before you are sufficiently evolved on any line to have the right to say: "I will pass through that gateway. but I have said that the risks of becoming a disciple without these qualifications are enormous. I saw that the mast of the ship was going to fall and. but have a serious fault along another. for a man can afford to do in the outer world with small result what will bring terrible results upon him when once he is treading the Path. in word. I have followed along the ancient road which lays down these qualifications which the disciple should bring with him. but he must suffer for it. or a bruise. takes form in the higher world. If you are careless of truth here. I once made a fool of myself in this way. you are creating a whole host of terrifying and deluding forms. Every fault you carry through the gateway with you becomes a dagger to stab you on the other side. It is the duty of those who have seen the results of going through the gateway with faults in character. I have never said that a person must come utterly up to the ideal before becoming a disciple. I was in a ship going down and. That is a frequent phenomenon until you have corrected the fault of the mind. But I have not said that no one can become a disciple who does not reproduce the description that is given of the perfect disciple. One protection you can make for yourself as you become more sensitive. as I was busy there. then the word of Jesus is true. which thinks instinctively the things which it is accustomed to think down here. and if he comes without them. to point out that it is well to get rid of these faults first. live truth. every desire. Think truth.
The End
. I had a large physical bruise where the mast fell. in deed. But we do it at our own peril. One may. that he will be beaten with many stripes. for when I came back to the body in the morning. thought: "That mast will fall on me" that momentary thought had its result. Be rigorously truthful in thought. in a moment's forgetfulness. Therefore it is well to purify yourself as much as you can.
Preparation for Yoga
People say that I put the ideal of discipleship so very high that nobody can hope to become a disciple." That is what I intended to be understood when I spoke of qualifications for discipleship. Every thought. and so on.

and how shall he be repelled from himself? For him there is no "I" or "Thee. would really desire to reach it.
. There are many "virtues" of your ordinary life which will drop entirely away from you when you reach unity." for we are one. repulsion from evil. they are the nearer to the realisation of the Beauty that is God. It is a necessary stage. The Seventh Root Race will know identity. The Sixth Root Race will carry brotherhood to the highest point. will realise the unity of the human race. When you feel repulsion from evil. when he sees God made manifest in man. We talk brotherhood. The sinner is himself. Many things you admire will be no longer helps but hindrances.
End of Project Gutenberg Etext An Introduction to Yoga by Annie Besant. and knows that the sin is not in the God but in the sheath. if they realised what unity means. But repulsion cannot be felt when a man has realised unity. Hatred of evil is better at that stage than indifference to evil. the greatness of the unity in which "I" and "mine. He cannot be repelled by anyone. All those qualities so useful in ordinary life--such as moral indignation. It is not a thing that many honestly desire. He who has realised the inner greatness of the Self never pronounces judgment upon another. Greater than brotherhood are identity and realisation of the Self as one. even to do that lifts the whole nature towards divinity. The difference is only there. it is a sign that your Higher Self is beginning to awaken. knows that other as himself. The man who has realised unity knows no difference between himself and the vilest wretch that walks the earth. and he himself as that other--that is unity. in which we are all one life. To catch a glimpse of the beauty of that high conception. This is not a thing that many honestly wish for. A man who knows unity cannot judge another. and those who can even see that unity is fair. judgment of others--have no room where unity is realised. is seeing the dangers of evil: he drags the body forcibly away from it. He sees only the God that walks in the sinner. Sometimes I am not sure that large numbers of people." "you" and "yours" have vanished. when the sense of unity begins to dawn." said the Christ. That is the beginning of the conscious moral life.What is to be the end of this long struggle? What is the goal of the upward climbing. but how many of us really practice it? And even that is not the thing the yogi aims at. the prize of the great battle? What does the yogi reach at last? He reaches unity. "I judge no man.